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COSMOS 


AND 


DIACOSMOS 

The  Processes  of  Nature 
Psychologically  Treated 

BY 

DENTON  J.  SNIDER 


ST.   LOUIS,   MO.. 

SIGMA  PUBLISHING   CO.. 

210  Pine  St. 

(For  Sale  by  A.  C.  M'Clure  A  Co.,  Booksellers,  Chicago. 

To  whom  the  tr,iile  is  referred.) 


Copyrieht  by 
D.  J.  SNIDER.  1909. 


NIXON-JONES  PTG.  CO.,   216  PINE  ST.,  ST.  LOUIS. 


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B  an 


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CONTENTS. 


>^  PAGE. 

S£           INTRODUCTION 5 

PART  FIRST.     THE  COSMOS 27 

Chapter  I.    The  Elemental  Cosmos      ...  39 

Motion 45 

(1)  Space        50 

(2)  Time 59 

(3)  Quantity       70 

Matter 85 

•j».                            (1)  Immanent  Character 92 

^"                            (2)  Qualitative  Character 101 

i^                             (3)  Quantitative  Character 106 

Q                      Measure 112 

(1)  Geometry 119 

(2)  Arithmetic         132 

(3)  Algebra         156 

Chapter  II.    The  Particularized  Cosmos      .  170 

The  Moving  Body 178 

The  Impinging  Body 188 

The  Gravitating  Body 215 

(3) 


317123 


4  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Chapter  III.    The  Systemic  Cosmos      .    .    .  243 

The  Pancosmos 288 

The  Stars 303 

The  Sun 321 

PART  SECOND.     THE  DIACOSMOS 354 

Chapter  I.    The  Molecular  Diacosmos     .    .  368 

The  Liquid 373 

The  Gas 393 

The  Ether 414 

Chapter  II.    The  Radiant  Diacosmos    .    .    ,  440 

Heat 450 

Light 476 

Electricity 497 

Chapter  III.    The  Chemical  Diacosmos     .    .  538 

The  Elemental  Atom       547 

The  Electron  and  Radium 555 

The  Systemic  Atom 578 


COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  word  Cosrnos  is  sufRciently  familiar  to  the 
reader  in  its  general  sense;  but  what  about  that 
other  strange  vocable  in  the  above  head-line,  Dia- 
cosmos?  Not  known  to  the  English  dictionaiy ,  it  has 
belonged  hitherto  to  the  Greek  lexicon,  in  which  it  is 
ascribed  to  an  ancient  philosopher  who  maintained 
the  atomic  theory  of  the  physical  universe.  More 
will  be  said  upon  this  point  and  its  significance 
later,  when  the  atom  in  Natural  Science  comes  up 
for  consideration.  At  present  we  can  merely  give 
a  forecast  of  the  place  and  purport  of  the  word  in 
the  following  book.  The  prefix  dia  in  Greek,  whose 
ordinary  meaning  is  through,  or  asunder,  is  derived 
from  an  old  Aryan  root,  signifying  tivo,  and  thus 
reaches  back  linguistically  to  the  primordial  con- 

(5) 


6  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

cept  of  division  separation,  twoness.  In  the  order- 
ing of  Nature  as  here  unfolded,  the  Diacosmos  is 
taken  to  represent  the  entire  second  stage  of  the 
total  process  of  Nature,  that  is,  the  separation 
stage,  in  contrast  with  the  Cosmos  proper, 
which  is  the  first  stage.  To  these  two  parts  is 
added  the  third,  and  the  three  form  the  total  cycle 
of  Nature.  The  justification  of  these  divisions 
must  appear  in  the  course  of  their  special  ex- 
position. 

I.  There  are  and  always  have  been  various 
ways  of  looking  at  Nature  and  of  formulating  its 
activity  in  human  speech.  Primarily  poetry  seizes 
upon  it  and  makes  it  the  bearer  of  the  soul's  storm 
and  sunshine,  thus  reproducing  it  as  a  symbol  in 
one  form  or  other.  Different  from  poetry  is  the  so- 
called  poetic  description  of  Nature.  The  art  of 
Painting  employs  it  in  landscapes,  often  with  a 
unique  sympathy  for  its  color.  Nature  is  con- 
ceived to  have  moods  and  to  show  them  in  an  ever- 
changing  diversity,  which  starts  corresponding 
echoes  in  the  heart  of  man.  The  artistic  use  of 
Nature  is  properly  a  chapter  in  Aesthetics. 

Philosophy  also  takes  its  early  beginning  from 
Nature.  Ever  memorable  in  many  ways  was  the 
declaration  of  ancient  Thales  that  water  was  the 
•  principle  of  all  things,  or  the  essence  of  being.  He 
took  a  single  physical  object  and  conceived  it  to  be 
the  origin  of  all  phenomena.  Really  he  was  seek- 
ing the  unity  of  Nature,  and  tried  to  find  in  one 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

manifestation  of  it  the  source  or  ground  of  all  the 
rest.  The  earlier  Greek  philosophers  had  the  same 
general  tendency,  their  aim  was  to  philosophize 
Nature,  hence  they  were  called  by  Aristotle  physio- 
logoi,  Nature  philosophers.  In  them  Philosophy 
and  Natural  Science  had  not  yet  been  differentiated. 
In  our  modern  time  these  two  branches  of  knowl- 
edge have  become  not  only  distinct,  but  hostile. 
Significant  is  it  to  note  that  in  the  beginning  the 
philosopher  and  the  naturalist  were  one  and  the 
same,  personally  and  scientifically.  At  the  present 
moment  it  looks  as  if  they  were  coming  together 
again  after  their  long  alienation.  Certainly  recent 
physical  science  shows  an  emphatically  speculative, 
theoretic  trend,  and  is  becoming  in  its  way  as  ideal- 
istic as  any  philosophy.  The  atom,  the  ion,  the 
electron,  are  ideas,  supersensible  forms,  ever  receding 
from  the  realm  of  the  sensible ;  nor  can  they  stop  in 
this  recession  till  they  reach  a  universal  principle. 
As  the  case  stands  at  present,  science  is  stmggling 
to  construct  the  supersensible  out  of  the  sensible* 
to  make  the  universal  out  of  something  particular, 
and  hence  feels  its  own  contradiction  in  every  fibre. 
It  resembles  the  early  Greek  philosophers  who 
seized  upon  a  special  element  and  declared  its  uni- 
versality, which  was  first  a  sensible  material  (as 
water  and  air),  and  then  a  supersensible  material 
(the  atom).  This  last  is  what  modern  physical 
science  is  unfolding  to  a  supreme  degree  of  refine- 
ment.   Some  of  its  devotees  are  trj'ing  to  halt  it, 


8  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

but  plainly  it   must   go  on  till   it   completes  its 
present  phase  of  evolution. 

II.  Nature  is  a  vast  theme,  indeed  through  it 
rises  the  very  conception  of  vastness  or  magnitude ; 
but  vast  as  it  is,  we  are  to  see  it  ultimately  as  only 
a  part  or  phase  of  the  great  Totality,  of  the  Universe 
as  a  whole.  ReUgion,  Philosophy,  and  Psychology 
also  in  the  supreme  sense  grapple  with  this  Universe 
each  in  its  own  way,  and  regard  it  as  embracing  the 
three  grand  divisions,  usually  called  God,  Nature, 
Man.  These  three  form  the  process  of  the  All 
which  is  psychical,  or  rather  pampsychical,  and 
which  deserves  a  special  name — we  call  it  the  Pam- 
psychosis,  or  the  psychosis  of  the  All  which  is  thus 
conceived  as  Self,  having  Nature  as  the  second 
stage  of  its  process. 

Such  a  Universe  cannot  be  interrogated  concern- 
ing its  origin  from  without,  since  ,that  would  con- 
tradict it  in  its  essence.  Cause  does  not  apply  to 
it  unless  it  should  be  conceived  as  self-caused;  if 
something  else  beside  itself  caused  it,  then  it  is  not 
the  Universe,  which  as  Ego  or  Self  must  have  its 
own  process. 

Nature,  then,  takes  its  fundamental  character 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  second  or  separative 
stage  of  the  Psychosis,  here  of  the  All-psychosis. 
It  is  the  derived,  the  created,  the  separated — from 
what?  From  the  Primordial  One  as  the  creative 
Self,  of  which,  however,  we  must  grasp  it  as  an  in- 
herent essential  part.     It  is  not  to  be  conceived  as 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

something  ejected  or  externally  formed  by  a  trans- 
cendent creator,  of  whose  perfection  it  constitutes 
no  integral  portion.  To  be  sure,  it  is  the  stage  of 
separation  in  and  from  the  All-Self,  and  taking 
this  point  of  view  we  may  deem  it  the  Unself  of  the 
Universe,  the  other  side  of  the  same  and  yet  belong- 
ing to  the  same.  Now  this  separation,  very  gener- 
ally stated,  is  the  most  pervasive  psychical  charac- 
teristic of  Nature,  is  what  distinguishes  it  from 
beginning  to  end  and  unites  all  its  varied  phenom- 
ena in  a  common  trait.  And  we  are  to  see  that  this 
separation  of  Nature  from  the  All  makes  Nature 
all-separative,  cutting  it  up  into  ever-diminishing 
particles,  atomizing  it  to  the  last  degree  of  division- 
To  this  basic  originative  conception  of  Nature 
we  shall  often  come  back  to  re-think  it  and  to  ap- 
propriate it  anew.  There  is  one,  and  only  one, 
presupposition  in  the  Universe,  and  that  is  the  Uni- 
verse itself,  but  as  Self.  It  has  no  beyond  or  out- 
side, for  the  beyond  and  outside  lie  in  it.  Still  it 
as  universal  must  be  its  opposite,  its  other,  which 
as  Plato  long  ago  remarked,  is  Nature.  Or  we  may 
penetrate  to  the  thought  in  this  way:  the  All-Self 
must  unselve  itself  and  through  this  act  be  com- 
plete as  object;  otherwise  indeed  its  difference  is 
outside  of  it  and  not  a  constitutive  part  of  its  pro- 
cess. Now  this  act  of  unselving  itself  and  creating 
an  Unself,  gives  Nature,  the  separative  stage  of 
the  Universe.  And  furthermore,  this  separative 
act  of  Nature-making  goes  over  into  Nature  itself, 


10  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

which  is  perpetually  self-reproductive  in  infinite 
diversity.  And  what  we  may  call  the  first  mani- 
festation of  Nature,  Motion,  shows  the  ever- 
separating  character  which  is  truly  Nature's  soul. 

At  this  point  another  conception  enters.  Nature 
tiying  to  get  outside  of  itself  in  Motion,  hints  a 
striving  for  some  end — what  is  that  end?  A  kind 
of  dissatisfaction  it  shows  with  its  separation,  and 
seeks  to  separate  from  the  same,  whereby  it  simply 
repeats  the  separative  act.  Still  it  keeps  up  the 
stmggle  to  reach  beyond  itself,  but  cannot  so  long 
as  it  remains  Nature.  Gravity  manifests  the  striv- 
ing of  an  unobstructed  stone  to  get  rid  of  gravity 
at  the  center  of  the  earth,  or  perchance  at  the  cen- 
ter of  the  Universe.  Nature  in  every  throb  reveals 
an  aspiration  to  return  to  the  All  whence  it  came. 
But  it  must  not,  else  that  All  would  not  be  com- 
plete, would  not  have  its  total  process,  would  not 
be  All.  Still  Nature  will  whisper  her  ideal  unity 
even  in  her  real  separation.  In  this  aspect  she, 
though  the  Unself,  is  always  aspiring  to  re-selve 
herself  in  the  fountain  of  her  original  existence. 

III.  From  time  immemorial  men  of  thought  have 
asked.  What  is  the  first  of  Nature?  "V^Tiat  object 
or  appearance  has  the  right  to  be  considered  prim- 
ordial? In  the  multitude  and  complexity  of  nat- 
ural phenomena,  which  one  must  be  taken  as  the 
start  of  the  physical  world?  Evidently  that  which 
actually  starts  in  itself  and  is  the  pure  form  of  all 
beginning — Motion.    There  is  a  remarkable  con- 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

sensus  u'pon  this  point;  two  of  the  deepest  thinkers 
on  Nature,  Aristotle  in  antiquity  and  Descartes  in 
the  modern  epoch,  are  agreed  that  Motion  is  the 
first  of  Nature  and  is  wrought  through  the  same 
from  beginning  to  end  under  many  shapes. 

If  we  take  a  steady  glance  at  Motion,  we  find  it  to 
be  ever  separating  from  itself  and  passing  beyond; 
it  is  separation  pure  and  simple,  we  shall  call  it  the 
Separating  in  accord  with  its  fundamental  trait. 
It  is  the  opposite  of  the  All-Self,  the  most  complete 
estrangement  from  universal  selfhood;  really  the 
process  of  self-estranging  it  bears  in  its  own  bosom, 
so  that  it  is  always  getting  away  from  itself  in  order 
to  be  itself.  Motion  is,  accordingly,  the  primal 
manifestation  of  Nature's  dualism,  its  very  birth- 
mark stamped  at  creation.  The  first  antithesis  of 
the  All-Self  is  not  Space,  nor  Matter  (as  some  have 
thought),  but  Motion,  which  is  the  prototypal  form 
of  Nature,  its  all-separating  act;  for  it  is  Motion 
which  keeps  Nature  going,  and  radiates  it  out  and 
beyond,  toward  infinity.  Motion  is  the  primal 
manifestation  of  the  All-Self  in  its  necessary  self- 
opposition,  that  is,  in  its  unselving  itself  and  be- 
coming Nature.  Motion  is  accordingly  the  peren- 
nial decentering  of  all  things  and  {)ninarily  of  itself. 
Still  it  is  a  striving  for  the  center,  for  the  universal 
center,  that  is  the  center  of  the  Universe — which 
remains  a  striving. 

If  Motion  be  the  first,  what  is  the  second  of  Na- 
ture?   Here  again  is  (juite  a  consensus  of  the  best 


12  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

judges,  who  select  Matter.  Motion  and  Matter  are 
then  the  primordial  twain  of  Nature  sprung  of  the 
All.  Sometimes  the  order  is  reversed  into  Matter 
and  Motion,  Matter  being  deemed  Nature's  first. 
Such  an  arrangement,  however,  obscures  their 
physical  genesis,  and  must  be  corrected. 

Matter  is,  in  its  turn,  the  counterpart  of  Motion, 
being  the  fixed,  the  inert,  the  enemy  of  change. 
Still  it  manifests  the  full  separation  of  Motion,  only 
it  does  not  move  in  itself;  at  least  such  is  its  appear- 
ance, even  if  modern  Science  is  reading  Motion  into 
the  molecules  of  rigid  Matter.  We  have  still  to 
make  a  difference  between  Motion  and  Matter,  be- 
tween which  exists  a  sort  of  perpetual  war  in  Na- 
ture. How  shall  we  distinguish  them?  Matter  is 
as  external  as  Motion,  but  halted  in  its  externality 
and  crystallized  on  the  spot.  It  is  not  the  separat- 
ing, but  the  separated.  It  is  already  outside  itself, 
not  forever  going  that  way,  like  Motion,  but  gone. 
It  is  not  only  external  but  self-external  and  thus 
space-occupying. 

In  its  basic  thought  we  shall  call  Matter  the  Sep- 
arated of  Nature  in  line  with,  yet  in  contrast  to 
Motion  as  the  Separating,  With  all  their  differ- 
ence we  shall  find  that  they  belong  together  in  a 
common  Psychosis  which  is  hereafter  to  be  devel- 
oped. Accordingly  we  shall  in  the  present  exposi- 
tion designate  Motion  and  Matter  as  the  Separating 
and  the  Separated,  the  active  and  the  passive,  both 
being  derived  from  the  All-self  and  opposites  of  it, 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

yet  in  diverse  ways.  Hence  both  are  also  opposites 
of  each  other,  though  in  a  single  domain  of  Nature ; 
they  form  a  process  together,  in  which  a  third  ele- 
ment, Measure,  will  appear  as  their  psychical 
correlative. 

It  may  be  added  that  Matter  as  separated  from 
the  great  Totality  will  show  its  origin.  Matter  has 
gravity,  which  strives  to  carry  all  separated  bodies 
into  unity  and  thus  overcome  the  separation  in- 
volved in  every  material  particle.  Gravity  may  be 
deemed  the  soul  of  Matter,  which  longs  to  return 
out  of  its  estrangement  from  the  One-and-All. 
But  this  end  remains  ideal,  an  aspiration  of  Nature, 
which  cannot  be  fully  realized  without  break- 
ing up  the  order  of  the  Universe.  The  weight 
of  a  little  piece  of  Matter  is  a  voice  which,  when 
fully  heard,  speaks  out  of  the  heart  of  the  uni- 
versal Self. 

IV.  Nature  is  born  with  the  original  mighty  con- 
tradiction between  Motion  and  Matter,  both  of 
which  rise  through  a  series  of  forms  or  stages,  with 
the  ever-advancing  triumph  of  Motion  over  Matter 
or  of  Force  over  Body,  till  Body  vanishes  and  Mo- 
tion remains  as  pure  self-activity  or  self-movement 
in  the  human  consciousness.  This  is  no  longer 
Nature,  which  must  cease  when  its  dualism  between 
Motion  and  Matter  ceases.  Life  is  indeed  a  phase 
of  self-movement,  but  is  not  purely  such,  being  in  a 
body  which  still  gravitates.  So  the  destiny  of  Mo- 
tion (and  with  it  of  Nature)  is  to  be  its  own  Matter, 


14  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

and  to  become  self-moved  within  itself,  in  other 
words,  to  become  the  Ego. 

As  Nature  is  dual  and  indeed  contradictory  with 
its  incessant  play  of  attraction  and  repulsion,  it 
was  already  in  old  Greece  called  dialectical.  Mat- 
ter and  Motion  are  not  only  opposites,  but  each  is 
internally  self-opposed,  contradicting  itself.  The 
well-known  difficulty  about  Motion  usually  takes 
this  form :  a  thing  cannot  move  where  it  is  and  can 
not  move  where  it  is  not,  hence  there  is  no 
Motion.  The  self-contradiction  in  Motion  as  the 
Separating  goes  back  to  Zeno  the  Eleatic.  If 
Motion  moves  it  quits  itself,  negates  itself.  And 
yet  this  self-transcending  is  just  what  Motion  is. 
Deeper  is  the  Dialectic  of  Motion  as  the  separation 
from  All-Self  of  which  it  still  remains  a  part. 
Zeno  also  pointed  out  the  Dialectic  which  is  in- 
volved in  the  conception  of  Matter  the  separated; 
for  if  Matter  be  infinitely  separated,  it  must  be 
separated  from  itself — which  is  its  negation.  A 
similar  Dialectic  of  Matter  re-appears  in  Kant's 
second  antinomy. 

Without  going  into  the  details  of  this  abtruse 
subject,  we  may  mark  the  historic  fact  that  an  old 
Greek  philosopher  in  the  first  half  of  the  fifth  cent- 
tury  B.  C,  this  Zeno,  very  distinctly  affirmed  the 
inherent  dualism  and  contradiction  of  Nature, 
which  was  called  its  Dialectic.  Particularly  he 
singled  out  its  first  two  manifestations.  Motion  and 
Matter,  and  showed  their  dualism,  we  might  say 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

duplicity:  There  has  been  some  question  about 
the  meaning  of  Zeno:  did  he  intend  to  deny  the 
sensuous  rcahty  of  Motion  and  Matter,  and  so  of 
all  Nature?  Hegel  thinks  that  Zeno  had  no  such 
intention,  that  he  purposed  to  assert  merely  the  un- 
truth or  the  phenomenality  of  Motion  and  Matter. 
At  any  rate  Zeno  strikes  the  fundamental  charac- 
teristic of  all  Nature  as  the  second  or  separative 
stage  of  the  Pampsychosis.  He  brings  to  the  sur- 
face its  twofoldness,  its  dualism.  He,  therefore, 
occupies  a  very  important  place  in  the  history  of 
the  Science  of  Nature.  It  may  be  that  he  did  not 
go  so  far  as  to  deny  the  existence  of  an  external 
world,  though  he  showed  its  inner  self-assailing 
Dialectic  as  a  necessaiy  element  of  its  being.  This 
external  world,  too,  must  be,  even  in  its  inner  con- 
tradiction. 

It  should  be  added  that  the  doctrine  of  Zeno  has 
its  application  to  Mind  as  well  as  to  Nature.  All 
finitude,  be  it  inner  or  outer,  is  inherently  dialecti- 
cal, self-undoing,  negative  to  itself.  Zeno  did  not 
probably  carry  out  his  view  so  far,  but  it  was  much 
extended  by  Plato,  though  its  fullest  and  most  sym- 
pathetic elaboration  is  to  be  found  running  through 
the  entire  philosophy  of  Hegel,  often  called  the 
last  philosopher  of  Europe.  Zeno's  greatness  is, 
as  we  look  at  it,  to  have  given  the  first  conception 
of  a  Science  of  Nature  by  showing  its  innermost 
character.  To  be  sure  his  method  was  not  that 
of  the  scientist,  not  experimental.     He  thought 


16  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Nature  in  its  genesis,  he  re-created  it  in  idea  after 
its  creator,  and  formulated  the  same  for  the  future. 

The  duaHsm  of  Nature  may  be  further  illustrated 
by  the  doubt  which  it  has  often  excited  in  specula- 
tive minds  (doubt  is  itself  dual,  from  c^wo).  Is  it 
an  appearance  to  the  senses  without  substance? 
Does  it  at  times  dart  into  reality  and  then  flit  out 
of  it  like  a  ghost,  playing  hide-and-seek  with  its 
pursuers,  though  they  be  scientists?  We  have 
already  noted  the  present  speculative  tendency  of 
Science,  its  flights  to  the  supersensible.  Famous 
philosophers  have  questioned  the  reahty  of  Space 
and  Time,  others  have  reached  the  point  of  deny- 
ing Nature  on  account  of  its  Dialectic.  Fichtc 
questions  it,  Berkeley  more  than  questions  it.  But 
because  Nature  is  dialectical,  gives  no  ground  for 
denying  its  existence. 

Here  we  may  repeat  that  Nature,  just  through 
its  separation  and  contradiction  has  its  place  in  the 
Universe  as  pampsychical.  There  would  be  no 
Universe,  no  complete  process  of  it,  without  Na- 
ture as  its  second  or  separative  stage.  This  sep- 
arative dialectical  character  of  Nature  is,  there- 
fore, fundamental,  truly  a  necessary  constituent  of 
the  All,  It  must  be  recognized  at  the  start;  the 
first  duty  of  Science  is  such  recognition.  Philoso- 
phy and  Theology  have  sometimes  damned  Nature 
as  the  evil  one  who  is  somehow  to  be  put  out  of  the 
Universe.  Thus,  however,  they  would  completely 
undo  themselves,  and  the  Creator,  too. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

V.  That  Nature  taken  by  itself  is  dual,  has  been 
stated  sufficiently;  but  now  we  must  add  that  her 
process,  her  movement  is  threefold,  being  at  bot- 
tom psychical  and  therein  bearing  the  impression 
of  its  origin.  Nature  we  have  seen  to  be  a  stage, 
the  second,  in  the  process  of  the  universal  Self, 
which  process  is  psychical  also.  We  must,  there- 
fore, put  together  these  two  thoughts:  Nature  is 
dual,  but  the  process  of  this  dualism  is  triple,  that  is, 
has  its  three  stages.  Or  we  may  say  that  the  content 
of  Nature  is  the  threefold  process  of  her  twofold- 
ness.  For  instance  Motion,  Matter  and  Magnitude 
(Measure)  form  one  of  Nature's  processes,  to  be 
shown  later;  but  all  three  have  in  them  Nature's 
primordial  dualism,  each  in  its  own  way.  Inertia, 
Repulsion,  Attraction,  are  three  well-known  cate- 
gories of  Matter,  and  make  a  })sychical  process  to- 
gether, but  each  is  endowed  with  the  original  sep- 
arative character  of  Nature. 

All  this  is  an  illustration  of  a  fundamental  fact  in 
universal  Psychology:  each  stage  of  a  psychical 
process  must  have  in  it  that  process  in  order  to  be 
a  stage  of  the  same.  Or  each  part  of  a  whole  must 
have  in  it  the  process  of  that  whole  in  order  to  be 
such  a  part.  So  Nature  is  a  stage  or  part  of  the 
great  Totahty,  of  the  Pampsychosis,  whose  psychi- 
cal process  must  hold  of  Nature  in  order  to  make  it 
a  part  or  stage  of  the  same.  From  this  point  of 
view  we  have  again  to  observe  the  double  character 
of  Nature:     It  is  on  the  one  hand  a  single  stage  yet 


COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 


18  

.1.0  the  total  psychical  ^^^.^^^^•y:^ 
triple  in  its  movement,  a  part  w  ^^^^  ^^ 

the  whole  of  which  >t  >«;  P'f '    "^  ,i„k  in  the  uni- 
are  to  follow  Nature  unfoldmg  as 

vei-sal  science  of  P^.Y**^;^^  ,„d  indeed  to  feel 
We  have,  aceordmgly  to  ^e  ^  .^  ^^^ 

.  in  Nature  a  s^S^f '«'^,°"  ,h  it  came  and  to 
,  beyond  it,  --^^^^  ^^dL  and  in  its  way 
which  it  IS  f'-^g-  J*;Xm  it  the  bridge  between 
mediational;  we  m^y/f "  the  Pampsy- 

the  absolute  Self  -'I  .f'^g^lttltions  Nature 
ehoBis  and  the  Psychosis     Such  m  ^^^  ^^^^ 

has  not  only  for  the  poet  ^^^^^^^^^^^  holo- 
tn.e  scientist,  and  especraUy  to  the  *  J  ^^^^^^^ 
gi,t.    Nature's   P^^^^^^jf  i^l  and  separative. 

though  it,  taken  by  '*  ^If;  ^^  "      j^^^  j^  ;,  of  itself, 
IntheEgothepsychrcalprocess  s  ^^  ^^^ 

but  not  so  in  Nature,whrch,b   n    m  ^^^  ^^  .^ 

aration  and  estran^-ent  starves  ^  ^»  ^^ 
and  to  return.    But  tnis  ^^^,^^^j 

anend(theAristotelrf)>«h>*     ^^.^  ^^.^.^^ 

,„ly  by  *™7-j:^,f:hrorgani.es  it  and  gives 
or  ideal  end  of  Nature  is  wi         °  ,  Gravita- 

;  it  unity  in  its  — drnoX  W^-^^^  ^^^,^„^ 
tion,  for  instance,  f '*  ~  *,  striving  for  the 
to  it.  farthest  -*,  --\-*;,^  ,.,,,„  ,f  ufe  evo-- 
unification  of  all  Matte..  j^^  tj^^ 

lution  reveals  the  g^-^^^nv  ng^      ^^^  ^^^^ 

Highest  orgamc  for-    N    -  ^^^  ^  ^^^  ^^ 

in  exuberance;  a  greai  pu 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

any  means,  could  call  her  "a  Bacchic  god"  in  a 
mighty  carousal  of  shapes,  as  if  the  Absolute  were 
breaking  loose  through  her  into  a  fit  of  universal 
revelry.  But  deeper  than  her  maddest  delights  is 
her  soul's  sigh  for  restoration  out  of  her  estrange- 
ment in  the  Universe.  Such  is  the  perennial  un- 
dertone of  Nature's  aspiration,  not  to  be  neglected 
by  the  scientist.  Schelhng  called  Nature  "a,  petri- 
fied intelligence,"  but  the  expression  does  not  re- 
cognize her  soulful  striving  underneath  all  her 
riotous  play  of  forms. 

The  scientist  is  usually  content  to  investigate 
Nature  as  it  is  in  itself,  in  its  dualism.  He  reduces 
its  seeming  license  and  lawlessness  to  law — cer- 
tainly a  great  service.  Thus  he  becomes  the  legis- 
lator of  Nature,  which  cannot  be  allowed  to  run  at 
will  through  the  Universe.  But  the  laws  them- 
selves become  manifold  and  even  contradictory; 
they  too  must  be  brought  into  an  order  which  goes 
back  to  their  source  and  puts  them  into  an  organic 
totality  or  law  of  laws.  That  brings  us  again  to 
the  psychical  fountain-head  of  Nature  itself,  as  well 
as  of  its  laws,  which  will  be  found  to  be  some  part 
of  its  process. 

Accordingly  all  the  laws  of  Nature,  so  far  as  dis- 
covered, must  ultimately  find  their  place  in  some 
stage  of  the  psychical  process  which  mns  through 
and  co-ordinates  the  physical  universe.  Nature  as 
a  whole  we  conceive  to  be  the  absolutely  separated 
from  the  All,  and  hence  separated  from  itself,  for  it 


20  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

belongs  to  the  All.  Here  we  may  note  again  the 
flash  of  its  Dialectic.  Its  character  is,  therefore, 
self-dividing,  atomic  to  infinity,  yet  the  atom,  if 
material,  is  still  divisible.  Motion  we  may  regard 
as  the  active  atomizing  of  Nature,  its  Separating 
from  itself,  while  Matter  is  the  atomized,  the  Sep- 
arated, the  divisibility  of  Nature. 

VI.  And  now  we  have  to  summon  before  us  the 
total  domain  of  Nature,  and  behold  its  full  sweep 
from  beginning  to  end.  This  would  embrace  the 
cycle  of  the  Natural  Sciences,  each  of  which  has  its 
own  special  field,  and  is  specially  cultivated  in  our 
age  of  specialization.  The  attempt  here  is  to  see 
them  not  so  much  in  their  isolation  as  in  their 
continuity  and  in  their  order,  which  is  their 
process.  Three  grand  divisions  or  stages  consti- 
tute the  totality  of  Nature  from  the  foregoing  point 
of  view: 

(I.)  The  first  division  we  shall  call  the  Cosmos, 
which  term  has  been  also  used  to  designate  the  or- 
dered \\Tiole  of  Nature.  The  Cosmos  as  here  re- 
garded is  the  getting  and  the  unifying  of  the  physi- 
cal universe,  in  its  immediate  separation  from  the 
All-Self,  and  it  includes  the  first  Motion  and  Matter, 
as  well  as  their  final  organization  into  a  system. 
But  the  pivotal  characteristic  of  the  Cosmos  is 
Gravitation;  all  the  separated  bodies,  terrestrial 
and  celestial,  draw  one  another  in  the  smallest 
particle  as  well  as  in  the  largest  mass,  and  so  have 
the  tendency  to  become  one  and  form  a  unity. 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

(II.)'  Our  second  division  is  called  the  Diacosmos, 
of  which  word  the  general  meaning  has  been  already 
given.  It  is  in  its  sphere  the  opposite  of  the  Cosmos; 
instead  of  gravitating,  it  has  the  tendency  to  de- 
gravitate,  to  separate  from  body  and  to  ray  out  in 
opposition  to  Gravitation.  Light  may  be  taken  as 
an  instance.  Evidently  this  is  the  second  or  separ- 
ative stage  of  Nature,  which  is  itself  the  primordial 
separation  from  the  All-Self  in  Motion  and  Matter, 
both  of  which  are  at  work  in  the  Diacosmos,  as  well 
as  in  the  Cosmos,  though  in  different  ways. 

In  the  nomenclature  of  the  science  of  today,  the 
Diacosmos  embraces  chiefly  Physics,  including 
Chemistry  at  the  end  and  something  of  Mechanics 
at  the  beginning.  On  the  other  hand  the  chief  con- 
tent of  the  Cosmos  is  the  mechanical  aspect  of  Na- 
ture and  includes  astronomy. 

(III.)  To  the  third  division  of  Natural  Science 
we  shall  give  the  name  Biocosmos,  or  the  Science  of 
Life  {Bios)  in  its  widest  aspect.  The  Hving  Body 
does  not  simply  turn  outwards  in  action  (as  if  radi- 
ating itself  like  the  Diacosmos),  but  it  also  turns 
back  to  itself  as  center  (as  if  gravitating  to  Body 
like  the  Cosmos).  It  is  thus  Body  as  self-moving 
or  self-active,  going  out  and  coming  back  within 
itself,  self-repellent  and  self-attracting  in  one — a 
conjunction  in  its  way  of  the  two  previous  spheres 
of  Nature.  Science,  however,  has  not  y(>t  l)ridged 
by  actual  experiment  the  chasm  between  the  Dia- 
cosmos in  its  final  form  of  Chemism  and  the  Biocos- 


22  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

mos  in  the  earliest  beginnings  of  life.  The  best 
scientific  heads  are  in  agreement  that  no  chemical 
process  has  yet  produced  vital  action.  So  we  have 
to  pass  over  this  scientific  chasm  at  present  on  the 
wings  of  thought  (which  wings  the  scientist  often 
does  not  possess,  and  so  is  inclined  to  scoff  at) .  Far 
more  easy  experimentally  is  the  transition  from 
the  Cosmos  to  the  Diacosmos;  indeed  they,  though 
vast  counterparts  of  Nature,  often  move  along  side 
of  each  other  even  in  their  opposition.  For  this 
and  other  reasons  these  first  two  divisions  of  total 
Nature  bear  to  each  other  an  intimate  relation 
which  they  do  not  bear  to  the  third.  So  they  may 
well  be  put  together  in  one  book  as  a  treatise  on 
inanimate  nature. 

But  animate  Nature  or  the  Biocosmos  (literally 
the  order  of  Life)  is  really  not  the  second  stage  but 
the  third,  having  the  psychical  principle  of  return 
out  of  separation.  Moreover  it  is  as  yet  limited 
experimentally  to  our  planet,  though  some  scientific 
inventor  may  bring  to  light  a  true  bioscope  which 
will  reveal  the  life  on  distant  spheres,  as  the  spec- 
troscope shows  to  our  eyes  the  chemical  elements  of 
the  sun  and  stars.  And  we  may  suppose  that  the 
existent  break  in  the  evolution  of  Nature  as  a  whole, 
which  seems  at  present  to  be  narrowed  down  to  the 
chemical  on  one  side  and  the  vital  on.  the  other, 
will  be  overcome  through  the  thousands  of  imtient 
investigators,  and  demonstrated  by  sensuous  proof, 
which  is  the  grand  function  of  physical  science. 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

So  we  put  together  the  three  Orders  of  Nature — 
the  three  Cosms  we  might  call  them  in  allusion  to 
their  common  terminal  word — Cosmos,  Diacosmos, 
and  Biocosmos.  This  is  the  psychical  process  which 
organizes  Nature  ultimately  and  shows  its  origin. 
It  is  not  to  be  conceived  as  an  accidental  co-ordina- 
tion of  unrelated  divisions,  but  as  the  veiy  impress 
and  movement  of  the  universal  Self  (or  Pampsy- 
chosis)  in  its  supreme  self-separating  act.  Thus 
while  Nature  is  duali*^tic  and  separative,  the  or- 
ganization of  it  is  threefold,  and  this  doubleness 
between  its  original  character  and  its  organizing 
principle  will  remain  to  the  end,  and  make  it  truly 
Nature's  Science,  a  Science  on  the  one  hand  but  on 
the  other  the  Science  of  Nature. 

A  favorite  expression  of  Liebig  is  said  to  have 
been:  I  think  in  phenomena.  That  is  well  as  far 
as  it  goes,  especially  for  the  experimental  scientist ; 
but  he  would  have  been  a  completer  man  if  he  had 
thought  also  through  and  out  of  phenomena.  Tyn- 
dall  in  response  to  some  demand  for  his  general 
theory  of  Nature  replied :  I  have  not  even  a  theory 
of  magnetism.  The  answer  may  have  a  touch  of 
scientific  bravado  directed  against  the  prying  in- 
quirer, for  Tyndall  in  other  passages  shows  a  decided 
striving  for  the  unity  of  Nature,  and  can  even  declare 
that  it  must  ultimately  reach  up  to  a  spiritual  origin, 
though  of  this  he  has  nothing  further  to  say. 

In  his  investigation  of  the  fall  of  bodies  Galileo 
pushed  beyond  Aristotle,  but  Newton  pushed  be- 


24  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

yond  Galileo  with  the  law  of  universal  gravitation, 
while  modern  science  is  seeking  to  push  beyond 
Newton  by  discovering  the  cause  of  ther  mysterious 
actio  in  distans.  For  Gravitation  is  not  separated 
by  Space  and  Time,  the  primordial  separators  of  the 
physical  universe;  it  is  not  obstructed  by  Matter 
intervening,  nor  by  any  force  crossing  its  path; 
verily  it  seems  to  share  in  the  creative,  universal 
Motion.  With  its  net-work  of  connecting  lines  be- 
tween the  smallest  particles,  and  the  largest  masses 
throughout  the  remotest  spaces  it  has  the  appear- 
ance of  holding  together  the  Cosmos  and  of  keeping 
its  original  separation  from  becoming  a  forthright 
plunge  into  chaos. 

It  may  be  here  observed  that  the  three  supreme 
Orders  of  Nature — Cosmos,  Diacosmos,  and  Bio- 
cosmos — have  three  dominating  names  of  scientists 
attached  to  them  in  three  successive  centuries. 
Newton's  peculiar  field  was  the  Cosmos,  which  he 
scientifically  unfolded  and  to  which  he  gave  its 
ruling  category — Gravitation.  If  Newton  belongs 
specially  to  the  mechanical  17th  century,  Dalton 
is  of  the  chemical  18th  century,  with  his  prevailing 
atomic  theory,  even  if  he  too  (like  Newton)  reaches 
beyond  his  century  in  years.  Darwin  makes  the 
19th  century  the  great  biological  era  of  science  with 
his  doctrine  of  evolution.  The  fact  is  significant 
that  Dalton  is  no  such  towering  figure  as  Newton  or 
Darwin;  he  is  of  himself  somewhat  atomic  in  com- 
parison and  shares  his  honors  with  many  other 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

atoms  who  are  quite  his  equals.  Still  it  is  Dalton 
who  has  pre-eminently  given  to  modern  chemistry 
and  physics  the  fundamental  category  of  atomism, 
though  suggested  in  Greek  antiquity  by  Democritus 
and  others.  Looking  into  these  three  terms — 
Gravitation,  Atomism,  Evolution — all  of  them  ex- 
pressive of  theoretic  views  of  Nature,  we  may  see  a 
common  clement  in  them,  indeed  a  process  which 
unites  them  all  in  an  underlying  bond  which  deeply 
conjoins  three  centuries  of  science. 

The  question  cannot  fail  at  this  point:  What  is 
the  coming  century  to  give  us  in  the  scientific  field? 
Is  it  also  to  concentrate  itself  in  a  single  lofty  peak 
rising  above  all  the  other  mountains  though  these 
be  high  too?  Are  we  again  to  have  some  new 
dominant  theory  in  some  department  of  Nature 
which  speculatively  takes  hold  of  the  age  like  Dar- 
winism? Prophecy  is  perilous  especially  in  science, 
and  indeed  is  considered  unscientific.  But  we  may 
at  least  note  the  call,  somewhat  loud,  for  the  corre- 
lation and  synthesis  of  what  has  been  piled  up  in 
such  vast  detail.  The  scientist  of  course  is  pri- 
marily to  do  this,  when  one  great  enough  appears. 
Still  we  may  be  permitted  to  note  the  time's  eager 
search  for  the  unifying  process  of  the  three  leading 
stages  of  Nature,  which  can  be  designated  as  its 
three  Orders  or  Kingdoms,  or  perchance  Cosms. 
The  ))i'in('iple  of  unity  nnist  be  found  in  each  of 
them  scpai'ately  and  in  all  of  them  together,  other- 
wise there  is  no  true  unity. 


26  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

In  its  psychological  aspect  Nature  is  conceived 
as  an  act  of  Will ;  hence  the  study  of  Nature  iias 
a  tendency  to  emphasize  volition  as  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  the  Universe.  So  it  comes  that 
not  a  little  of  the  philosophy  of  to-day  calls  itself 
voluntarism,  or  pragmatism.  But  we  are  not  to 
forget  that  Nature  is  not  the  whole  Universe  and 
that  the  Will  is  not  the  whole  Self,  either  as  uni- 
versal or  particular.  Motion  as  the  primal  separa- 
tive act  may  be  conceived  as  the  outer  Will  ever 
going  forth  out  of  itself  and  determining  the  physi- 
cal world. 

Our  first  task  is  then,  to  try  to  run  some  Hnes  of 
order  through  the  Cosmos  in  the  sense  here  em- 
ployed— to  organize  its  divisions  and  subdivisions 
according  to  a  universal  principle  which,  in  our 
view,  must  be  psychical.  Any  explanation  of  Na- 
ture, which  seeks  to  be  fundamental,  cannot  help 
going  back  to  its  original  source  in  the  universal 
Self  from  which  it  once  separated  and  still  keeps 
separating,  and  whose  impress  it  bears  in  all  its 
processes,  even  the  smallest. 


Part  Jfirsit 

THE  COSMOS. 

From  the  very  dawn  of  the  human  mind  it  has 
been  asking  after  the  origin  of  the  world.  The 
humblest  savage  in  his  folk-lore  has  his  theorem  of 
creation:  so  has  the  profoundest  theologian,  philoso- 
pher, scientist.  Of  course  some  of  the  latter  give 
up  the  problem  as  insoluble,  unknowable,  fantas- 
tic, and  hence  useless  to  be  considered.  Such  a 
view,  however,  must  be  deemed  a  kind  of  intellect- 
tual  despair  begotten  of  negative  culture.  The 
normal  mind  will  grajjple  with  the  great  Whole  of 
which  it  is  a  part ;  as  such  a  part  it  must  feel  within 
itself,  and  perchance  may  get  to  see  in  its  own  pro- 
cess, the  process  of  the  All.  A  cosmogony  each 
man  must  have,  original  or  inherited,  as  sure  as  he 

is  an  integral  member  of  the  Cosmos.    Among  his 

(27) 


28  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

other  distinctive  attributes  man  may  be  deemed  by 
nature  cosmogenetic. 

Accordingly,  a  science  of  Nature,  if  it  seeks  any 
degree  of  completeness,  will  take  a  look  back  at  its 
own  beginnings.  Religion  has  its  cosmogony  and 
usually  introduces  the  creator  in  the  act  of  creating 
the  world.  A  AVill  is  thus  the  starting-point  of  the 
All,  a  person  who  evokes  the  universe  by  fiat.  The 
Hebrew  account  in  the  Old  Testament  is  the  best 
known  to  us  of  these  religious  cosmogonies.  It  is 
significant  that  an  old  Greek  poet,  Hesiod,  has  given 
a  kind  of  evolution  of  the  Universe  through  a  line  of 
shapes  of  Nature  which  are  also  regarded  as  deities. 
The  book  is  called  a  Theogony,  and  in  it  runs  the 
idea  that  the  Gods  too  must  evolve  from  lower  to 
higher.  That  certainly  is  a  stride  ahead  of  Dar- 
win, though^reaching  far  back  into  hoary  antiquity. 

Of  course  the  philosopher  likewise  must  have  his 
cosmogony.  In  fact  early  philosophy,  notably  that 
of  Hellas,  deals  with  hardly  anything  else.  Socra- 
tes expressly  reacted  against  it  and  turned  more  to 
mind.  His  prejudice  was  evidently  shared  by  his 
pupil  Plato,  who,  however,  felt  at  last  the  necessity 
of  making  a  small  cosmogony  in  the  Tirimus.  Aris- 
totle, on  the  contrary,  devoted  a  large  part  of  his 
works  to  the  philosophy  of  Nature,  which  was  re- 
vived in  recent  times  by  Schelling  and  Oken,  with 
its  culmination  in  Hegel.  After  the  latter  followed 
a  rapid  decline  of  {)hilosophic  cosmogony,  which  was 
supplanted  by  the  experimental  science  of  Nature. 


PART  FIRST— THE  COSMOS.  29 

But  the  latter  in  its  turn  has  been  unable  to  keep 
aloof  from  cosmogenetic  speculation,  often  wilder 
than  the  theologic  or  philosophic. 

The  eighteenth  century  gave  rise  to  what  is 
known  as  the  nebular  hypothesis  of  the  evolution 
of  the  physical  universe.  Its  currency  was  largely 
due  to  Laplace,  the  eminent  French  astronomer 
and  mathematician,  who,  however,  was  not  its 
first  proposer.  Laplace  thinks  that  it  was  the  at- 
mosphere of  the  sun  which  cooled  down  gradually 
and  threw  off  the  planetary  bodies.  In  his  System 
of  the  World  he  says:  "The  consideration  of  the 
movements  of  the  planets  leads  us  to  think  that  on 
account  of  an  excessive  heat  the  atmosphere  of  the 
sun  at  first  extended  beyond  the  orbs  of  all  the 
planets,  and  that  it  was  gradually  confined  to  its 
present  limits."  We  have  here  the  thought  of  the 
sun  with  its  atmosphere  embracing  the  whole  solar 
system  (and  no  more  seemingly),  and  then  con- 
tracting and  successively  throwing  off  the  planets. 
This  solar  atmosphere  is  deemed  the  primordial 
nebula  from  which  the  heavenly  bodies  of  our 
system  evolved  one  after  the  other.  Such  is  the 
basic  conception  of  the  nebular  hypothesis  which 
has  so  deeply  influenced  modern  cosmical  science. 
We  may  call  it  the  conception  of  the  Heliosphere 
which  also  revolved,  even  if  slowly,  upon  its  axis, 
already  as  a  nebula. 

Now  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  an  obscure  corner 
of  Europe,  at  Koenigsberg,  Germany,  the  philoso- 


30  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

pher  Kant  had  published  a  similar  but  much 
broader  hypothesis,  in  1755,  forty-one  years  before 
the  appearance  of  Laplace's  Systein  of  the  World 
(1796).  The  philosopher  on  the  border  of  civiliza- 
tion (we  may  say)  was  far  more  daring  than  the 
scientist  at  the  Parisian  center  (in  the  dawn  of  the 
Napoleonic  era).  Laplace's  words  are  exceedingly 
circumspect,  he  puts  his  theory  off  into  a  kind  of  ap- 
pendix as  a  possibility  with  which  the  scientific 
reader  may  amuse  himself.  For  it  lacks  these  two 
requirements  of  strict  science:  visible  demonstra- 
tion and  mathematical  proof.  And  yet  this  little 
thought  in  a  corner  has  immortalized  Laplace  far 
more  than  his  great  Mecanique  Celeste.  It  has 
been  fertile,  it  has  shown  an  inherent  power  of  evo- 
lution, till  it  dominates  the  scientific  cosmogony 
to-day,  though  of  course  with  some  protests. 

We  should  note,  however,  that  Kant's  form  of 
the  nebular  hypothesis  is  decidedly  more  universal 
than  that  of  Laplace,  who  seems  somewhat  timid 
in  comparison.  For  instance  Kant  did  not  confine 
his  theory  to  the  solar  system,  but  boldly  extended 
it  to  the  entire  physical  universe.  The  philosopher, 
therefore,  reaches  out  beyond  the  Heliosphere,  and 
seeks  to  embrace  the  many  suns  and  their  systems, 
in  fine,  the  whole  Cosmosphere,  as  it  may  be  called. 
But  this  is  not  all.  He  has  the  conception  of  a 
single  fundamental  element  {elementarischen  Grund- 
stoff)  which  fills  all  space,  and  out  of  which  all  the 
heavenly  bodies  have  been  formed,  and  in  which 


PART  FIRST— THE  COSMOS.  31 

they  still  -revolve.  Such  is  Kant's  primeval  matter 
or  protoplasmic  stuff,  the  original  element  of  plan- 
ets, comets,  and  worlds.  In  connection  with  it, 
one  cannot  help  thinking  of  ether,  which  from  its 
previous  dark  background  seems  to  be  coming  into 
the  forefront  of  recent  science. 

Two  other  scientists  of  great  name  belonging  to 
the  eighteenth  century,  Buffon  and  Herschcl,  are 
often  regarded  as  suggesters  of  this  nebular  hy-. 
pothesis,  and  are  mentioned  in  company  with  La- 
place and  Kant.  Sir  William  Herschel,  by  means 
of  his  large  telescope,  first  studied  in  detail  the  neb- 
ulous masses  of  the  Heavens  and  made  them  an 
important  part  of  astronomy.  He  too  saw  in  them 
the  primeval  form  of  the  origin  of  worlds.  Thus 
the  new  cosmogony,  springing  up  at  very  different 
points  in  Europe,  seems  to  be  an  utterance  of  the 
age,  a  characteristic  note  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
which  was  a  time  of  revolution,  not  only  in  states, 
but  in  ideas.  The  old  origin  of  the  Cosmos,  theo- 
logical and  philosophical,  can  no  longer  be  accepted; 
it  must  be  made  scientific  in  accord  with  the  in- 
coming era.  A  shred  of  matter  of  the  extremest 
tenuity  is  taken  as  the  starting  point  of  cosmical 
evolution,  which  thus  antedates  organic  evolution, 
the  work  of  Darwin,  But  besides  and  even  before 
Matter,  something  else  has  to  be  assumed:  Mo- 
tion in  some  form.  For  the  separating  power  must 
exist  in  advance  of  the  separated  result,  which  is 
that  slender  gossamer  of  a  nebula  with  which  the 


32  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Cosmos  is  conceived  to  begin,*  and  to  start 
moving. 

The  nebular  hypothesis,  accordingly,  assumes 
the  two  primordial  cosmical  elements,  Motion  and 
Matter.  But  whence  do  they  come?  Certainly 
such  a  question  is  not  to  be  suppressed.  Moreover, 
the  assumed  motion  of  the  evolving  Heliosphere  is 
circular,  ever  returning  into  itself  on  its  own  axis. 
In  other  words,  that  Motion  from  which  all  other 
kinds  of  Motion  are  generated  is  the  rounding  one, 
yea  the  self-rounding  one,  which  is  the  original 
creative  form,  parent  of  all  other  forms  of  Motion. 
But  how  did  it  get  to  be?  Rectilineal  Motion  is 
derived,  finite,  not  universal  and  primordial.  It  is 
true  that  Matter  is  conceived  to  attract  in  straight 
lines  from  the  center,  but  such  Matter  is  divided, 
limited,  made  up  of  separate  bodies,  between  which 
is  Hmited  or  special  Motion.  This  comes  later  than 
the  original  circular  Motion  of  the  Universe,  from 
which  all  other  Motions  are  taken. 

Such  we  may  consider  the  first  Motion,  whose 
counterpart  is  the  first  Matter  already  indicated, 
which  has  been  sometimes  declared  to  be  a  million 
times  rarer  than  hydrogen,  the  lightest  of  the  chem- 
ical elements  and  the  basis  for  the  comparative 
weight  of  gases.  This  most  etherial  of  substances 
as  a  nebulous  mass  is  observed  to  take  a  spiral  form, 
it  seems  lo  whirl  primordially,  as  if  that  circular 
Motion  were  its  first  impress  from  the  universal 
Ego  which  is  also  self-returning  or  a  circle  within 


PART  FIRST  — THE  COSMOS.  33 

itself.  Such  then,  wc  deem  the  primordial  source 
and  indeed  form  of  Motion:  it  is  the  process  of  the 
All-Self  externalized,  thrown  out  into  the  world, 
opposite  to  itself,  yet  retaining  in  such  opposition 
its  own  movement.  Very  significant  is  it  that  the 
first  Motion  of  Nature  is  circular,  and  also  that  the 
first  of  Nature  is  Motion,  the  earliest  eject  or  utter- 
ance of  the  Pampsychosis. 

And  here  we  may  summon  up  an  image  which, 
even  if  inadequate,  has  its  uses.  More  or  less  dis- 
tinctly is  the  i)hysical  Universe  conceived  by  the 
Nebular  Hypothesis  as  a  vast  wheel  (or  rotary 
sphere)  which  as  })rototype  reproduces  itself  in 
lesser  wheels  of  the  same  general  pattern  (suns, 
planets,  moons),  all  of  which  make  a  colossal  sys- 
tem characteristic  of  the  Cosmos.  This  we  shall 
study  later  as  the  Systemic  Cosmos.  At  present, 
however,  our  attention  is  directed  to  the  first  Mo- 
tion as  circular,  from  which  all  other  Motions, 
curved  and  straight,  are  derived — a  fact  which  we 
shall  find  repeated  in  every  kind  of  finite  machin- 
ery, notably  in  the  steam  engine,  whose  aim  is  pri- 
marily to  produce  a  circular  movement,  which  is 
the  generative  source  of  its  variously  directed 
powers.  Thus  it  may  be  said  to  i)artake  of  uni- 
versal Motion,  or  the  Motion  of  the  Universe. 
Moreover,  in  this  illustration  we  are  led  to  see  the 
mechanical  element  in  the  Cosmos,  which  properly 
embraces  the  science  of  Mechanics,  celestial  as  well 
as  terrestrial,  both  being  forms  of  the  one  original 

3 


34  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

cosmical  machine.  Sir  William  Herschel,  study- 
ing and  co-ordinating  the  facts  of  the  Milky  Way, 
compared  it  to  a  grindstone,  which  had  indeed  a 
cleft  in  the  middle,  but  which  to  him  represented 
the  wheel  of  the  Universe  apparently  revolving 
with  primal  Motion.  Before  him  Wright  had  sug- 
gested the  same  idea,  and  it  occurred  also  to  Kant's 
speculative  mind.  The  wheel  is  indeed  a  great 
thing  in  all  our  terrestrial  machinery,  but  it  becomes 
far  greater  if  there  be  a  cosmical  wheel  as  the  grand 
mechanical  prototype,  or  the  wheel  of  the  Cosmos. 
In  such  a  case  the  huge  Ferris  Wheel  of  the  two 
greatest  World's  Fairs  becomes  an  ideal  pattern  or 
artistic  type  not  only  of  Earth's  but  of  Heaven's 
mechanism,  possibly  also  a  colossal  symbol  of  our 
oft-defamed  mechanical  age. 

Undoubtedly  Herschel's  universal  grindstone 
calls  up  difficulties,  both  scientific  and  philosophic, 
and  we  learn  that  the  author  himself  receded  from 
such  a  view  in  his  later  years.  Still  it  has  its  per- 
sistent significance,  and  continually  recurs  under 
one  form  or  other  in  astronomical  theories,  yea  in 
nearly  all  attempts  to  figure  the  physical  universe. 

But,  dropping  this  speculation  for  the  present 
(we  must  recollect,  however,  that  all  Natural  Sci- 
ence is  getting  speculative  in  these  days) ,  we  come 
to  a  more  exacting  question  concerning  the  treat- 
ment of  the  Cosmos  in  the  sense  here  used :  What 
are  its  right  divisions?  These  must  be  so  conceived 
and  formulated  that  they  reveal  its  essential  process. 


PART  FIRST— THE  COSMOS.  35 

In  graspiAg  the  Cosmos  we  have  to  start  with  the  sep- 
arated Universe,  which,  however,  is  striving  to  over- 
come its  separation  and  to  return  to  unity  through 
gra\'itation.  So  it  comes  that  gravitation,  the  at- 
traction of  separated  Bodies  for  one  another,  and 
their  strain  to  get  together,  may  Ije  regarded  as  the 
fundamental  pen-asive  phenomenon  of  the  Cosmos. 
To  be  sure  we  shall  find  that  separation  in  the  form 
of  resistance  and  repulsion  will  assert  itself  against 
the  unifying  power  of  gravitation.  Thus  the  Cos- 
mos becomes  the  arena  of  struggle  between  antag- 
onistic forces.  But  in  the  end  gravitation  will  be 
able  to  systemize  the  colliding  bodies  and  to  bring 
them  into  an  harmonious  order,  such  as  we  behold 
for  instance,  in  the  Solar  System. 

The  exposition  of  the  Cosmos  from  the  foregoing 
point  of  view,  will  comprise  the  following  chapters. 

(I)  The  Cosmos  as  elemental,  in  which  Nature's 
primordial  elements — Motion,  Matter,  Magnitude 
(or  Measure) — are  taken  as  immediate  or  as  they 
are  in  themselves,  that  is  as  pure  Motion,  Matter, 
Magnitude  (Measure).  These  may  also  be  deemed 
the  ideal  or  universal  elements  of  the  Cosmos  since 
they  underlie  all  its  manifestations,  which  indeed 
are  next  to  be  looked  at. 

(II)  The  Cosmos,  as  particularized,  real,  finite 
and  hence  colliding,  in  which  the  clash  of  the  ele- 
ments take  place.  For  instance  when  a  body  im- 
pinges on  another  body  or  falls  to  the  earth,  there 
is,  in  general,  a  collision  between  Motion  and  Mat- 


36  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tor,  a  cosniical  fight  in  which  one  or  the  other  side 
is  overcome  in  some  kind  of  rest  or  agreement  of 
peace.  Our  earth  especially  with  its  finitude  is 
such  a  field  of  elemental  combat,  in  which,  on  the 
whole,  Matter  triumphs  over  Motion  and  brings  it 
to  a  stop,  at  least  for  a  time  and  in  a  hmited  way. 
The  Motion  of  a  stone  lying  at  rest  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  is  indeed  overcome  by  its  Matter;  still 
the  material  stone  is  carried  by  the  earth  around 
the  sun  in  a  Motion  never-ending,  as  far  as  we 
know.  So  Motion  in  this  new  system  triumphs 
over  Matter.     This  introduces  the  next  stage. 

(Ill)  The  Systemic  Cosmos,  or  the  Cosmos  as  a 
system  in  which  the  collisions  of  the  particularized 
Cosmos  for  the  most  part  are  harmonized.  In  the 
Systemic  Cosmos  there  are  still  finite  moving  bodies, 
but  the  earth  does  not  collide  with  the  sun  or  with 
the  other  planets.  Yet  they  all  are  endowed  with 
Motion  and  Matter,  which  elements  showed  so  much 
antagonism  in  the  previous  (second)  stage  of  the 
Cosmos.  Still  it  is  not  said  that  there  are  no  col- 
lisions in  the  celestial  spaces.  Our  earth  for  in- 
stance dashes  now  and  then  into  a  comet,  and  is 
rained  upon  by  the  meteoric  showers;  even  stars 
are  supposed  by  astronomers  to  blaze  up  in  some 
cosmical  crash  (Hke  Nova  Persei).  Still  the  great 
fact  of  the  present  stage  is  the  harmonious  system 
of  Motion  and  Matter,  along  with  their  Magnitudes, 
which  are  now  realized  in  millions  of  bodies  scat- 
tered through  spatial  infinity.     Yet  these  bodies 


PART  FIRST— THE  COSMOS.  37 

representmg  all  the  diversity  and  separation  of  the 
incorporate  Cosmos  reveal  an  order  and  follow  a 
law,  in  fact  one  fundamental  law,  that  of  gravita- 
tion. 

We  are  not  to  forget  that  the  Cosmos  presup- 
poses the  primordial  separation  of  Nature,  with 
which  the  start  has  to  be  made  in  grasping  the  to- 
tahty  of  physical  science.  Nature,  separated  from 
the  All,  shows  first  the  striving  to  get  out  of  her 
separated  state,  shows  her  aspiration  (we  may  con- 
ceive) to  return  to  unity.  This  is  the  original  of 
Nature's  Motion.  The  universal  striving  of  the 
Cosmos  as  incorporate  has  been  repeatedly  noted 
as  gravitation,  which  is  Motion  embodied  and  car- 
rying or  perchance  pulling  all  Ijodies  together.  The 
outcome  is  that  Motion  and  Matter  are  united  into 
a  system. 

Such  are  the  three  stages  of  the  Cosmos:  the  ele- 
mental (universal),  the  particularized  (real as  collid- 
ing), the  systemic  (real  but  harmonizod).  These 
stages,  though  distinct,  constitute  a  process  together, 
yea  a  psychical  process  in  form.  The  Cosmos  opens 
with  Motion  as  elemental,  which  is  circular  in  its 
primal  conception;  it  concludes  (as  systemic)  with 
Motion  as  real  which  is  likewise  circular,  being  such 
both  as  axial  and  as  orbital  in  the  heavenly  bodies. 
Thus  the  development  of  the  Cosmos  goes  back  to 
its  beginning  and  makes  a  circle  in  its  conception, 
showing  a  dee})  correspondence  with  its  Motion, 
which  as  system  is  also  circular,  realizing  therein 


317123 


38  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

its  primal  form  as  elemental  or  ideal.  So  we  con- 
ceive the  Cosmos  as  here  unfolded,  rounding  itself 
out  into  its  complete  process,  which,  however,  is 
but  the  first  stage  in  the  great  totality  of  Nature. 
These  distinctions,  which  appear  ciuite  abtmse 
in  their  naked  statement,  will  be  better  understood 
in  their  concrete  application  to  natural  phenom- 
ena, which,  however,  reveal  in  their  details  the 
process  of  the  whole.  Some  of  these  more  import- 
ant details  are  what  must  be  looked  at  next. 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS.  39 

CHAPTER  FIRST. 

THE   ELEMENTAL  COSMOS. 

Descartes  said  that  he  could  construct  the  physical 
world  out  of  the  two  elements,  Motion  and  Matter. 
These  he  evidently  regarded  as  wholly  diverse,  as 
the  original  dualism  of  Nature  herself.  They  are 
not  interchangeable,  one  cannot  take  the  place  of 
the  other.  To  be  sure  Motion  can  be  imparted  to 
Matter  from  the  outside,  and  then  can  leave  it; 
their  relation  is  a  purely  mechanical  one.  Des- 
cartes likewise  ascribes  to  Motion  all  change  in 
Matter,  all  diversity  of  its  forms.  Motion  is  the 
movens,  Matter  is  the  motum.  This  is  largely  the 
present  view  of  scientists;  so  it  comes  that  Des- 
cartes is  often  declared  the  father  of  modern  Nat- 
ural Science,  which  for  the  most  part  bases  itself 
upon  these  two  elements  and  their  mechanical  and 
physical  relations. 

Such  is  the  vast  generalization  used  by  a  great 
philosopher  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  the 
study  of  the  physical  universe.  Plain  enough  are 
Matter  and  Motion  as  they  appear  in  thousands  of 
instances  before  us;  but  that  all  the  Cosmos  to 
the  remotest  star  is  composed  of  those  two  ulti- 
mates,  is  not  so  manifest.  That  is,  we  have  here 
again  theoretical  or  speculative  principles  underly- 
ing our  conception  of  the  reality.    We  may  indeed 


40     .  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

call  this  elemental  dualism  of  Nature  the  scien- 
tific consciousness  of  our  time.  It  is  deemed  the 
spirit  or  reason  indwelling  all  the  manifold  phe- 
nomena which  meet  our  senses.  It  is  the  Logos 
of  Nature  which  the  student  is  at  last  to  find  and 
to  commune  with;  in  a  sense  Nature  may  be  said 
to  think,  and  he  is  to  think  her  thought  after  her, 
or  perchance  with  her  in  all  her  subtle  metamor- 
phoses. The  scientist  becomes  natured  {natu- 
ratus)  in  his  mind,  and  that  is  one  of  his  powers. 

It  may  be  added  that  some  writers  have  sought 
to  get  rid  of  the  foregoing  dualism  by  a  reduction 
of  the  two  elements  to  one,  which  can  be  brought 
about  in  two  ways:  by  reducing  all  Matter  to 
Motion,  or  even  by  reducing  all  Motion  to  Matter. 
But  the  scientific  trend  is  to  maintain  the  irreduc- 
ible dualism  of  these  twin  elements  of  Nature. 

Motion  and  Matter  are  undoubtedly  to  be  re- 
garded as  elemental;  cosmical  elements  we  may 
call  them.  Of  Nature  in  herself  they  are  ultimates, 
irreducible;  but  that  does  not  hinder  us  from  ask- 
ing whence  comes  Nature  with  these  primordial 
twins  of  hers?  Already  wc  have  named  them  the 
Separating  and  the  Separated,  with  a  suggestion 
of  their  psychical  origin  from  the  universal  Self, 
which  produces  them  or  separates  them  out  of 
itself  as  a  necessary  part  or  stage  of  its  complete 
process.  Nature  as  the  separation  from  the  All 
must  still  be  of  it  and  in  it;  she  is  different  from 
it,  yet  thia  differerice  nmst  be  its  difference.     Nat- 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS.  41 

ure  thuS'inay  be  deemed  negative  to  her  source,  to 
the  universal  Self  or  Parapsychosis;  hence  she  is 
the  Negative  as  existent,  as  real ;  this  aspect  of  her 
has  been  emphasized  much  by  Theology.  On  the 
other  hand  Nature  is  an  integral  part  of  the  uni- 
verse as  Self,  and  must  show  herself  such;  hence  if 
she  is  negative,  she  is  likewise  self-negative,  self- 
overcoming,  and  is  ever  on  the  return  to  her  origin. 
This  we  have  already  tried  to  state  as  the  deepest 
fact  of  Nature:  as  the  opposite  of  the  All-Self  she 
is  inherently  self-opposed;  dialectical  we  may  des- 
ignate her,  as  some  of  the  old  Greek  philosophers 
did  not  fail  to  observe.  Consequently,  too,  Nat- 
ure is  dualistic,  divided  primarily  into  Motion  and 
Matter,  which  we  ma}^  w(>Il  regard  as  scientific 
ultimates.,  but  not  as  psychical  ultimates.  These 
twins,  named  the  Separating  and  the  Sepa- 
rated, are  not  only  divided  from  the  Uni- 
versal Self,  but  from  each  other;  they  are  the 
two  first-born  protagonists  on  the  arena  of  the 
Cosmos.  In  a  manner  the  whole  panorama  of  Nat- 
ure is  their  contest,  or  rather  the  contest  of  their 
multitudinous  ever-varying  shapes,  till  the  last  one 
vanishes  from  the  scene  in  a  new  order. 

Motion  and  Matter  are,  theix'fore,  naturally 
ultimates,  opposites,  yea  mutual  contestants  for 
supremacy;  Motion  may  be  said  to  triumph  when 
the  material  I'^arth  ramiot  sto])  it,  but  is  borne  l)y 
it  witliout  cessation  in  a  victoi'ious  ()rl)ital  sweep 
around  the   Sun;  Matter  may  be  said   to  triumph 


42  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

when  the  same  material  Earth  halts  the  moving 
body  on  its  surface  and  compels  it  to  be  at  rest. 
Still  each  of  them,  Motion  and  Matter,  remains 
invariable,  without  increase  or  decrease  in  the 
physical  universe;  whatever  be  their  local  varia- 
tions, the  sum  total  of  each  is  the  same.  The  turn 
of  my  hand  shows  that  I  am  able  to  tap  the  whole 
reservoir  of  this  universal  Motion  and  use  a  little 
jet  of  it  for  a  moment,  but  that  little  jet  is  not 
lost  when  I  stop  using  it,  for  it  still  belongs  to  the 
grand  totality.  And  this  hand  of  mine  as  %  ma- 
terial object  has  been  wrenched  off  or  sliced  off 
temporarily  from  the  never-varymg  cosmical  mass 
of  Matter  of  which,  however,  it  still  remains  a 
little  fragment.  It  is  evident  that  with  Matter 
and  Motion  goes  the  measured  Magnitude,  or  their 
Measure ;  both  are  quantitative  as  well  as  qualita- 
tive; every  separated  portion  of  each  bears  in  it 
a  more  or  less;  it  cannot  help  being  so  much  Mo- 
tion or  so  much  Matter  measured  off  from  the 
whole.  There  is  a  quantitative  relation  of  each 
part  to  the  entirety;  the  earth  has  been  weighed, 
the  planets  have  been  weighed,  the  Sun  himself 
has  been  weighed ;  but  we  have  not  yet  put  into 
the  balance  the  totality  of  Matter,  though  it  too 
must  be  heavy  as  against  Motion.  The  astron- 
omer, when  he  gets  the  Cosmos  weighed,  will  find 
its  quantity,  yea  its  absolute  quantity,  the  finar 
How-muchness  of  it.  But  we  can  already  say  that 
it  has  magnitude  and  hence  measurability. 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS.  43 

Accordingly  the  present  book  is  going  to  add  to 
the  two  preceding  a  third  cosmical  element  which 
it  will  call  Measure  or  Magnitude  measured.  This 
agrees  well  with  the  scientific  mind  whose  first 
impulse  is  to  measure  any  fresh  appearance  of 
Motion  or  Matter.  Indeed  science  has  often  de- 
clared through  its  authoritative  mt)uthpieces  that 
such  Measure  formulated  mathematically  is  the 
only  real  knowledge  of  Nature  which  we  possess. 
If  Motion  and  Matter  be  the  Separating  and  the 
Separated,  then  we  have  to  ask  in  both  cases, 
How  great  is  the  separation?  Impossible  to  say^ 
at  least  at  present;  still  the  quantum  exists  in  the 
thing  as  well  as  in  the  thought. 

Accordingly  we  shall  consider  the  elemental 
Cosmos  to  possess  a  triplicity  of  elements  as  fol- 
lows : 

I.    Motion. 
II.     Matter. 

III.     Measure. 

At  the  same  time  we  must  not  regard  these 
three  elements  as  wholly  disparate  and  apart. 
Matter  and  Motion  for  instance  are  often  made 
too  incompatible.  Yet  what  is  more  common 
than  to  see  the  Motion  of  Matter,  or  the  mov- 
ing of  bodies?  The  fact  is  they  belong  together, 
even  as  opposites,  they  are  mutually  r(>latcd 
through  their  opposition,  wherein  they  are  alike. 
Still  further,  magnitude  with  its  Measure  is  a  nec- 
essary third,  a  mediating  element   which  brings 


44  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Motion  and  Matter  under  order  and  law.  Most 
significant  of  all  the  laws  of  Nature  is  the  law  of 
Gravitation;  it  has  as  its  three  components  Mo- 
tion, Matter,  and  Measure.  That  is,  the  attraction 
(Motion)  of  bodies  (Matter)  varies  inversely  as  the 
square  of  their  distances  (Measure).  All  move- 
ments of  material  bodies  are,  therefore,  measured 
by  themselves,  or  we  can  say  by  Nature  herself, 
for  this  only  expresses  her  act  in  the  given  case. 
In  Hke  manner,  though  under  different  conditions, 
the  law  of  falling  bodies  gives  the  Measure  of  the 
Motion  of  Matter— the  velocity  (Motion)  of  a  fall- 
ing body  (Matter)  is  proportional  to  the  duration 
of  its  fall  (Measure) .  In  Kepler's  third  law  the 
same  three  cosmical  elements  are  seen  in  a  process 
together  which  is  ultimately  the  Motion  of  Matter 
measured  in  their  magnitudes — in  the  present  case 
the  law  pertains  to  the  planetary  system.  Mani- 
festly Nature  legislates  order  into  Motion  and 
Matter  through  Measure,  somewhat  as  we.  by  a 
curious  analogy  of  speech,  hear  of  legal  measures 
in  human  legislation. 

Such  are  the  elements  of  the  Cosmos,  or  in  gen- 
eral the  elemental  Cosmos,  its  universal  ideal  prin- 
ciples which  arc  indeed  to  be  realized,  and  in  such 
realization  to  be  ever-present  in  Nature.  They  are 
the  foreground,  or  if  you  prefer,  the  background  of 
all  physical  science  as  well  as  of  all  schemes  of 
construing  the  physical  totality.  Not  only  in  the 
Cosmos  but  also  in  the  Diacosmos  we  shall  meet 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS —MOTION.        45 

these  elements  l3ut  under  a  different  form  (yay  as 
radio-active) ;  nor  will  they  fail  us  in  the  Biocos- 
mos  or  the  vital  world  (say  as  cyclo-active  in  the 
individual  body).  At  present  however,  these 
three  elements — Motion,  Matter,  and  Measure — 
we  shall  unfold  as  purely  cosmical,  setting  them 
down  where  they  belong  at  Nature's  start. 

I. 

Motion. 

Motion,  then,  we  have  to  grapple  with  as  the 
first  element  of  the  Cosmos,  the  earliest  appear- 
ance of  Nature,  the  primal  externalized  form  of 
the  universal  Self  as  internally  self-separating 
and  making  itself  its  own  opposite.  Motion  is 
grasped  psychically  as  the  inner  self-separation  of 
the  All  manifested  outwardly  in  Nature;  for  Mo- 
tion, if  we  inspect  it  closely,  we  find  to  be  ever 
separating  from  itself  and  going  on  and  on,  thus 
showing  a  tlivisive  and  dualist ic  character  within 
itself.-  So  we  have  named  it  the  Separating, 
always  active,  in  contrast  with  the  Separated, 
which  is  Matter  passive  yet  necessarily  resist- 
ing the  action  of  its  opposite  in  order  to  be 
passive. 

Still  we  are  to  observe  that  Motion,  though  ever 
separating  and  going  onward  out  of  itsolf,  is  also 
striving  to  come  back  to  its  start,  to  its  primal 
source.     Thus,  while  it  is  self-dividing  it  has  like- 


46  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

wise  a  self -returning  bent,  seen  in  its  tendency 
when  free  to  move  in  circles,  which.,  however,  can 
be  only  an  external  return,  not  an  internal,  for 
Motion  as  Motion  can  never  get  back  to  its  origin, 
to  its  separation,  and  thus  become  self-originating, 
though  it  strives  eternally  for  just  that.  Then  it 
would  be  Ego,  Consciousness.  Still  we  are  never 
to  leave  out  of  mind  this  aspiration  of  Nat- 
ure so  often  emphasized  already  and  manifested 
primordially  in  Motion.  The  primal  nebula,  now 
so  much  studied,  as  the  earliest  form  of  the  visible 
universe  doubtless  moves,  turning  on  itself — how 
else  can  it  move?  But  this  is  a  theme  belonging 
far  ahead;  at  present  we  have  enough  to  do  in 
wrestling  with  the  thought  of  pure  Motion. 

One  of  the  hardest  problems  which  we  meet  in 
the  thought  of  the  Universe  is  this  primordial  sep- 
aration of  it,  which  makes  it  another  to  itself, 
that  it  be  completely  itself.  This  requires  an  uni- 
versal otherness  which  is  a  part  or  stage  of  the 
Universe,  inside  of  it  not  outside  else  it  would  not 
be  the  Universe.  The  All  disrupts  itself  in  twain 
and  ejects  its  opposite  which  is  its  own, yea  is  itself, 
being  a  necessary  part  of  its  total  process.  This 
conception  of  an  universal  otherness  is  just  the 
conception  of  Nature  as  a  stage  of  the  triple  process 
of  the  Universe,  usually  formulated  as  God,  Nature, 
Man.  Nature  we  may  deem  the  Unself,  yet  with 
the  All-Self  immanent  in  it,  which  Spinoza  named 
Deus  sive  Natura,  and  also  Substantia. 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MOTION.        47 

The  original  of  Motion,  in  its  psychical  aspect,  is 
the  Ego  as  Will,  also  the  separative  stage  in  its 
sphere.  Our  consciousness  has  Motion  within  it; 
we  watch  it  separating  itself  from  itself  and  mak- 
ing this  separation  its  object.  Now  it  is  with  this 
act  of  our  own  Self  that  we  can  recognize  the  act 
of  the  All-Self  as  creative  of  Nature  and  of  Motion. 
We  have  to  re-create  the  primal  creation  of  the 
world,  if  we  are  to  think  it.  This  mental  act  is 
often  called  the  seeing  God  in  Nature;  He  moves, 
separates,  determines  not  by  special  intervention, 
for  He  is  just  the  separation  of  Nature  and  all  her 
movements  in  Himself;  in  the  divine  totality  Nat- 
ure is  not  outside  but  inside,  a  stage  of  the  imi- 
versal  process. 

Motion,  then,  we  may  consider  as  the  primal 
element  of  the  Cosmos,  as  the  original  push  of  it 
into  being,  which  push  is  forever  going  on.  Mo- 
tion as  universal  cannot  stop  of  course,  cannot 
even  be  increased  or  diminished  in  total  amount. 
Now,  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  an  old  Greek  philoso- 
pher, Zeno  the  Eleatic  (already  alluded  to) ,  denied 
the  existence  of  Motion.  Nature  could  not  start, 
and  so  in  reality  could  not  be  at  all.  Zeno  saw 
and  showed  the  inherent  self-opposition  in  Motion ; 
his  reasoning  was  that  since  it  was  self-contradic- 
tory or  self-negative,  it  oould  have  no  existence. 
His  supposed  purpose  was  to  get  rid  of  all  separa- 
tion, all  multiplicity,  all  appearance,  in  fine  to  get 
rid  of  the  external  world  and  to  restore  the  unsep- 


48  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

arated  One  of  the  Elcatic  philosophy.  This  infer- 
ence of  Zeno  we  need  not  accept,  but  we  have  to 
accept  the  contradiction  which  he  uncovered  in 
Motion,  and  which  is  the  deepest  fact  of  it,  yea  of 
all  Nature,  which  we  have  already  called  dialect- 
ical. Both  the  name  and  the  thing  are  derived 
from  ancient  Zeno,  who  has  the  merit  of  uttering 
this  primordial  insight  into  Nature,  and  starts 
natural  philosophy.  To  be  sure  he  made  a  mistake 
in  his  negative  conclusion,  if  he  really  inferred 
(which  has  been  doubted)  from  the  inner  contra- 
diction in  Motion  that  it  had  no  reality,  whereas 
just  that  is  its  reality  It  may  be  added  that  a 
modern  German  })hilosopher  of  note,  Herbart  the 
pedagogical  thinker,  has  also  denied  Motion  on  ac- 
count of  its  innate  impossibility. 

But  what  lurks  in  this  first  element  of  the  Cos- 
mos? What  can  be  unfolded  out  of  it?  Space 
and  Time  are  often  declared  to  be  the  primordial 
forms  of  Nature,  the  earliest  shadows  cast  from 
her  creation.  There  is  no  doubt  of  their  very 
primitive  character  physically;  indeed  of  such  ex- 
treme tenuity  is  their  reality  that  it  has  often  been 
denied.  Still  they  remain  as  it  were  in  the  dim 
background  of  the  Cosmos,  very  persistent  even  if 
very  elusive.  Space  has  been  humorously  termed  a 
kind  of  fog  spread  over  the  universe,  reaching  from 
the  infiinitely  large  to  the  infinitely  small;  quanti- 
tative it  seems,  yet  hardly  measurable  as  a  whole 
in  itself.    Time  too  has  the  infinite  outstretch 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MOTION.         49 

from  the  present  to  the  past  and  to  the  future; 
who  can  tell  its  a^ons?  Both  are  possessed  of  a 
sort  of  indefinite  quantity,  which  persists  in  its 
very  indefiniteness.  The  scientist  has  not  yet,  we 
believe,  asserted  that  there  is  an  invariable 
amount  of  Space  and  of  Time  in  the  Universe,  as 
he  affirms  of  Motion  and  Matter.  Quantity  is,  in- 
deed, a  phase  or  stage  of  Motion  along  with  Space 
and  Time. 

So  it  come  that  we  find  in  Motion  as  the  primal 
element  of  the  Cosmos  a  triple  order  which  ar- 
ranges itself  as  follows:  Space,  Time,  Quantity. 
All  of  these  must  be  treated  here  in  their  universal 
aspect. 

By  way  of  illustrating  pure  Motion,  Newton's 
Principia  may  be  cited,  whose  theme  is,  accord- 
ing to  the  caption,  the  Motion  of  Bodies  (De  Motu 
Corporum).  Moreover  it  is  this  Motion  of  Bodies 
which  he  proceeds  to  measure  mathematically,  so 
that  his  great  work  is  constituted  of  the  three 
basic  elements  of  the  Cosmos,  being  in  general  the 
Measure  of  the  Motion  of  Matter.  Here,  how- 
ever, we  are  seeking  to  grasp  Motion  in  itself,  as 
primordial  and  elemental  in  Nature;  this  Motion 
Newton  takes  for  granted  in  his  epoch-making 
book,  which  indeed  anchors  in  law  the  Cosmos. 
Newton  also  assumes  the  Body  or  Matter,  and 
likewise  its  Magnitude  as  capable  of  being  meas- 
ured. This  measuring  of  the  Cosmos  is  what  his 
genius  specially  seized  upon,  lacing  cognate  with  it; 


60  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

in  particular  his  measurement  of  the  cosmical 
push  of  Matter  toward  unity  has  been  most  sig- 
nificant and  far-reaching.  But  it  is  necessary  to 
get  back  to  his  pre-suppositions,  and  to  set  them 
forth  as  they  are  in  themselves,  if  this  be  possi- 
ble. Such  an  exposition  cannot  be  quantitative 
or  mathematical,  but  psychological  at  bottom;  its 
function  is  not  to  measure,  but  to  give  the  founda- 
tion of  Measure  and  show  its  place  in  the  cosmical 
process.  Newton  in  his  book  barely  touches  upon 
abstract  Space  and  Time,  not  manifesting  a  strong 
grasp  therein,  we  have  to  think;  that  was  not  his 
true  field.  Still  they  have  to  be  considered  (along 
with  Quantity)  if  we  would  penetrate  to  the  pro- 
cess of  Motion, 

I,  Space.  Many  predicates  rush  in  upon  us 
when  we  try  to  tell  about  Space;  in  fact  it  might 
be  called  the  predicable  as  such,  existent,  every- 
where at  hand  ready  for  use.  The  physical  universe 
is  spatial  and  all  things  in  it;  Spac?  is  verily 
the  primordial  predicate  or  category  of  Nature; 
hence  we  put  it  first  in  the  long  evolution  of  her 
forms,  all  of  which,  however  remain  spatial  to 
the  last. 

The  primal  thought  of  Space  is  its  potentiality. 
Whatever  takes  place  or  exists  is  conditioned  by 
it;  the  Cosmos  is  conditioned  by  it  at  the  start,  and 
becomes  through  it  possible.  Without  Space 
neither  Motion  nor  Matter  could  be ;  it  is  their  po- 
tentiality, and  of  all  Nature,  whose  shapes  rise  out 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— SPACE.  51 

of  it  yet  remain  in  it  as  their  earliest  prototypal 
shape,  of  which  they  never  get  rid.  The  highest 
living  body  is  still  spatial.  Space,  however,  can 
hardly  be  called  a  shape  but  the  absolutely  shape- 
able,  wherewith  the  vast  multiplicity  of  Nature's 
shapes  has  to  begin.  So  it  is  the  grand  potenti- 
ality which  is  to  be  real,  and  yet  we  must  think 
it  too  as  a  reality.  Space  is  not  a  subjective 
phantom  of  my  own ;  I  have  indeed  to  re-make  it 
in  order  to  know  it,  still  it  is  already  made  and 
exists  in  own  right.  The  Cosmos  could  not  start 
without  Space,  nor  my  individual  Ego  could  not 
evolve  without  it.  I  too  am  spatial  internally, 
and  for  that  reason  I  can  know  it  or  rather 
recognize  it  as  my  own,  seemingly  after  the 
long  estrangement.  Space  is  accordingly  a  part 
really,  the  first  step  of  the  lengthy  evolution  of 
Nature. 

In  the  thought  of  Space  we  have  then  to  hold 
together  the  opposites:  it  is  the  potential  as  real, 
it  is  the  total  possibility  of  Nature  and  also  an 
actual  existent  object.  Very  difficult  is  it  to 
grasp  this  contradiction  in  the  unity  of  thought ; 
so  it  comes  that  many  minds  have  denied  and  still 
deny  the  reality  of  Space,  considering  it  to  be 
subjective.  That  would  of  course  destroy  its 
place  in  Nature  and  seriously  breach  her  evolu- 
tionary line.  Most  famous  of  these  denials  has 
been  the  Kantian,  which  still  has  its  followers,  in- 
dulging, however,  in  many  variations. 


52  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

If  Space  is  the  all-embracing  potentiality  of 
total  Nature,  its  most  direct  specific  potential  re- 
lation is  to  Motion,  as  the  primal  cosmical  element. 
Hence  we  put  it  under  Motion  as  the  first  stage  of 
the  latter.  It  is  the  infinitely,  divisible,  the  abso- 
lutely penetrable;  thus  Motion  as  the  ever-separat- 
ing finds  no  resistance  in  Space.  Not  only  no  re- 
sistance: Space  is  already  Motion  implicit,  not  yet 
moving  indeed  but  the  infinite  capability  thereof. 
From  this  point  of  view  Motion  is  Space  made  ex- 
phcit,  actual.  Space  is  latent  Motion,  a  mode  of 
Motion,  existent  long  before  those  other  modes  of 
it.  Heat,  Light,  Electricity.  Using  a  recent  term 
of  Science,  we  might  call  Space  the  primordial 
potential  energy  of  the  Cosmos. 

Other  predicates  we  may  apply  to  Space,  which, 
however,  amount  to  quite  the  same  thing.  It  is 
pure  externality,  not  only  outside,  but  self-outside; 
it  is  pure  extension,  it  must  be  beyond  itself  to  be 
itself;  it  is  the  void,  empty  of  all  except  its  own 
emptiness;  it  is  simple  continuity,  permitting  any 
limit  which,  however,  is  no  limit,  for  it  is  always 
beyond.  We  speak  of  the  infinity  of  Space,  which 
has  in  it  the  spatial  contradiction;  we  seek  to  limit 
that  which  is  indifferent  to  limit,  whose  boundary 
is  always  over  the  boundary.  It  may  be  deemed 
the  original  Chaos,  in  which  no  lines  of  order  are 
drawn,  without  being  at  once  obliterated.  In  the 
old  Greek  cosmogony,  Chaos  was  held  to  be  the 
primordial  mother  of  the  Cosmos. 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— SPACE.  53 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  foregoing  attributes 
of  Space  are  contradictory  and  strikingly  exhibit 
the  duahsm  of  Nature  in  its  first  appearance. 
They  may  be  pretty  well  summed  up  in  the  state- 
ment that  Space  is  Motion  inactive — conceived  but 
not  born.  Space  has  been  termed  Nature's  quan- 
tity, but  it  is  not  yet  cjuantity  though  quantifiable, 
the  possibility  of  quantity — which  is  to  be  dis- 
cussed later.  It  is  indeed  indifferent  to  (juality, 
even  to  a  (|ualified  quantity,  which  by  the  way  is 
just  its  quality.  If  we  ask,  how  far  does  Space 
extend,  this  how  far  is  a  qualified  quantity  that 
cannot  properly  be  ai)plied  to  pure  Space,  which 
is  not  to  be  enclosed  without  enclosing  the  enclos- 
ure. Hence  S{)ace  cannot  be  imaged,  as  it  also  is 
outside  the  limits  of  the  imagination. 

And  now  in  this  primeval  Chaos  can  there  be 
any  order,  or  at  least  the  possibility  thereof?  As- 
suredly, if  the  Cosmos  is  to  unfold  out  of  it.  We 
hear  of  the  three  dimensions  of  Space— a  sugges- 
tion of  order.  Some  kind  of  organization  is  hinted 
in  Point,  Line,  and  Surface,  all  of  which  are  {)urely 
spatial.  And  then  a  science  of  Space  has  been 
l)ointcd  out  in  Geometry,  which,  however,  belongs 
to  a  more  concrete  stage  of  the  Cosmos,  to  Meas- 
ure, as  we  look  at  the  subject.  Still  there  arc  lines 
of  order  in  pure  Space,  which  we  shall  try  to  draw. 

1.  The  Spatial  Process.  Have  we  the  right  to 
put  a  process  into  what  is  said  to  be  a  mere  pro- 
cessless  continuity?     Undoubtedly  the  contradic- 


54  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tion  again  rears  its  head.  Still  inactive  Motion 
as  spatial  must  show  the  possibility  of  itself,  of  its 
process  even  as  potential.  Let  us  see  if  something 
of  the  sort  cannot  be  glimpsed  in  the  following. 

(a)  Space  as  the  extended,  or  pure  continuity. 
Already  this  has  been  sufficiently  set  forth  in  pred- 
icates. Here  we  need  only  say.  Space  as  pure  out- 
sidness  is  negative  to  itself,  is  really  the  opposite 
to  itself.     This   brings  us  to  the  next. 

(6)  Space  as  the  unextended,  or  the  Point.  The 
usual  conception  of  a  Point  is  that  it  has  position, 
but  no  extension,  no  dimensions.  It  is  posited  by 
Space,  yet  in  Space;  it  is  the  negative  of  Space  but 
still  is  spatial.  Space  as  outside  itself  calls  forth  its 
opposite,  the  Point.  The  definition  of  a  Point  has 
always  given  difficulty  since  it  is  the  spatial  con- 
tradiction of  all  Space.  That  is  indeed  what 
makes  it  a  Point,  verily  a  turning-point.  For  the 
negation  of  Space,  the  Point,  is  still  spatial  and 
hence  continues. 

(c)  Space  the  unextended  as  continuity.  This 
is  involved  in  the  statement  that  the  non-extended 
Point  is  spatial  and  hence  continuous,  that  is, 
linear,  though  not  yet  a  line.  Or  the  Point  hav- 
ing negated  extension  goes  back  to  it  and  gets  ex- 
tended. But  this  is  no  longer  pure  continuity  (the 
first  stage)  but  the  Point  as  continuous  (the  third 
stage) ,  wherein  the  Point  may  be  said  potentially 
to  vibrate  between  two  extremes  of  itself,  as  it  will 
do  really  in  Time. 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— SPACE.  55 

Such  is  the  primal  process  of  Space,  still  kept 
spatial.  Nevertheless  the  fact  is  to  be  noted  that 
it  shows  the  Psychosis,  though  more  remote  from 
the  Ego  than  any  other  process  in  the  universe. 
There  is  the  pure  potentiality  of  Space,  the  sepa- 
tion,  and  the  return.  And  the  source  of  this  psy- 
chical process  even  in  Space  should  be  seen. 
The  universal  Self  or  the  Pampsychosis  unfolds 
the  opposite  of  itself  in  Nature  and  so  in  Space; 
but  this  opposite  of  itself  is  a  part  of  its  own  su- 
preme process  and  bears  the  creative  impress 
thereof,  which  must  also  be  spatial. 

2.  The  Spatial  Dimensions.  We  have  just  seen 
the  Point  as  continuous,  returning  as  it  were  to 
the  continuity  of  Space,  and  completing  its  germi- 
nal process.  But  the  Point  is  also  negative  to 
continuity  and  ends  it,  ends  it  in  a  Point,  causing 
it  to  lie  between  two  Points  and  thus  producing 
the  Line.  The  latter  being  thus  measured,  becomes 
itself  a  spatial  measurer,  a  dimension  of  Space 
which  has  three  of  them. 

(a)  From  Point  to  Line.  Such  is  the  first  di- 
mension of  Space ;  a  Point  can  hardly  be  called  a 
dimension.  We  may  conceive  it  seeking  to  get  rid 
of  its  contradiction  as  spatial  and  non-spatial,  and 
producing  the  Line,  which,  however,  returns  to  the 
Point,  and  thus  is  the  potential  measurer. 

(6)  From  Line  to  Surface.  The  Line  is  also 
non-spatial  through  its  origin  from  the  Point. 
But  it  has  also  continuity,  and  its  whole  continu- 


56  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS.  ■ 

ity  must  be  continuous,  and  so  it  produces  the 
Surface,  which,  however  returns  to  the  Line.  A 
Line  running  a  plane  through  Space  is  measuring 
it  with  a  new  dimension,  the  second. 

(c)  From  Surface  to  the  spatial  Solid.  The 
Surface  also  is  non-spatial,  but  it  is  continuous 
too.,  and  its  entire  continuity  shows  itself  continu- 
ous, thus  producing  a  spatial  whole  which,  how- 
ever, retui'ns  to  the  Surface  with  its  lines,  and  is 
thereby  limited.  This,  too,  is  properly  a  dimen- 
sion of  Space  as  comj^leted  extension,  we  may  call 
it  a  spatial  (non-material)  solid 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  spatial  dimensions 
spring  from  and  go  back  to  the  line  as  their  basic 
measuring  principle.  The  line  must  be  regarded 
as  the  primal  measurer,  drawing  the  first  limit  in 
and  upon  Space,  itself  the  first  clement  of  Nature. 
A  great  mathematician  has  said  that  "any  magni- 
tude whatever  can  be  represented  by  a  line."  It 
is  the  primal  potential  magnitude,  from  which  all 
others  are  evolved.  It  is  the  first  dimension  of  the 
physical  universe  and  starts  the  measurement  of 
the  same.  Still  the  spatial  line  is  not  yet  Meas- 
ure, though  its  possibility.  The  line  itself  must  be 
measured  ere  it  can  be  really  a  measurer,  and  so 
measure  itself.  The  surveyor's  chain  is  a  meas- 
ured Hne  whose  function  is  to  measure  spatial 
lines  as  yet  only  possible.  Measure  proper  is  a 
later  development  than  Space,  later  than  even 
Matter.    Still   we   are   to  note  the  Line  running 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — SPACE.  57 

from  Point  to  Point  in  Space  as  tlie  primal  dimen- 
sion of  Nature. 

3.  The  Spatial  Totality.  Space  in  the  solid  has 
indeed  returned  to  continuity  which  extends  in  all 
directions,  but  this  is  not  the  pure  continuity  with 
which  we  started.  Space  has  again  asserted  itself, 
we  may  say,  but  is  limited  in  all  directions  by 
Line,  Surface^  and  gpatial  Solid.  But  now  we  sec 
the  three  dimensions,  which  hitherto  have  been 
separate  and  different  in  character  from  one 
another,  becoming  united  and  alike  in  character; 
they  are  ev(>n  interchangeable,  yet  are  separate, 
being  always  three  distinct  dimensions.  These  are 
now  called  (a)  Length,  one  linear  dimension;  Qi) 
Breadth,  another  linear  dimension;  (r)  Height, 
the  third  Hnear  dimension.  We  note  here  that  the 
line  has  becom^the  one  basic  dimension,  the  com- 
mon measurer  of  Space. 

Each  of  these  hues  can  take  the  place  of  the 
other,  but  one  cannot  absorb  or  displace  the  other; 
the  exchange  must  somehow  be  mutual.  It  is 
spatially  indifferent  which  direction  or  dimension 
I  consider  Length,  Breadth,  or  Height;  still  I  nuist 
have  all  three  in  the  spatial  Totality.  The  three 
form  a  whob,  we  might  say,  a  process  together,  in 
which  each  is  indispensable,  though  all  are  cjuali- 
tatively  alike.  We  have  to  think  that  Space  or  its 
material  embodiment  must  have  three  dimensions, 
no  more,  no  less;  it  is  the  si)atial  trinity  and  in  its 
xternal  way  bears  the  creative  impress.     It  is  the 


68  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

quantitative  Psychosis  of  which  each  stage  is  what 
the  others  are,  though  all  have  to  be.  The  legs  of 
the  tripod  are  identical,  but  the  entire  vessel  would 
topple  down  if  one  were  missing.  In  like  manner 
it  requires  three  straight  hues  at  least  to  enclose 
Space,  to  make  the  Hne  return  into  itself  and  form 
the  triangle. 

Space  has  thus  in  its  way  revealed  an  order. 
The  spatial  Totality  goes  back  to  continuity,  which 
is  now  organized  through  the  spatial  dimensions. 
These  put  hmits  upon  Space,  which,  however,  at 
once  show  themselves  to  be  in  no  limits,  and  Space 
is  again  the  unlimited,  yea  the  illimitable.  And 
yet  it  most  passively  endures  every  limit  without 
resistance.  What  is  the  result?  Space  cannot  be 
quantified,  but  is  purely  the  quantifiable;  it  is  the 
unmeasured  which  is  yet  measurable;  the  possi- 
bility of  all  Motion,  it  does  not  move. 

Yet  as  the  negative  of  itself,  the  Point,  it  has  to 
move  and  to  get  out  of  itself,  whereby  it  is  no 
longer  Space  but  Time. 

To  the  immediate  vision.  Space  is  partly  occu- 
pied with  bodies,  between  which  seems  to  lie 
empty  extension.  The  question  has  often  come 
up  and  will  come  up  again,  Is  Space  filled  with 
something — perchance  with  Matter  of  the  greatest 
tenuity,  that  ether  which  seems  to  be  the  present 
pivotal  problem  of  Science?  Or  can  it  oe  said 
that  Space  itself  is  material,  perchance  the  primor- 
dial  protoplasmic    body    of  ah  bodies?    Then  is 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— TIME.  59 

Space  limited?  or  is  it  merely  the  potentiality  of 
all  limits,  hence  not  yet  to  be  thought  as  either 
limited  or  unlimited?  It  certainly  appears  to 
elude  both  of  these  predicates.  The  dialectical 
play  of  Nature  begins  with  Space  when  grasped 
either  as  finite  or  infinite.  And  since  the  mind 
must  also  be  deemed  spatial  (otherwise  it  could 
never  conceive  Space),  the  same  dialectical  play 
becomes  mental  and  shares  in  the  dualism  of  Nat- 
ure from  beginning  to  end. 

Some  of  these  questions  will  again  arise,  partic- 
ularly that  of  ether,  which,  however,  in  its  fullness 
belongs  to  the  Diacosmos.  Here  we  are  to  see 
Space  as  the  first  of  Motion,  its  possibility,  not  yet 
its  reality.  At  such  a  statement,  however,  that 
dialectical  sport  springs  forth  anew,  lurking  in  the 
query.  Is  Space  then  real  or  unreal?  Or  is  neither 
predicate  applicable?  Already  we  have  noted  that 
eminent  philosophers  have  denied  the  objective' 
reality  of  Space,  and  with  it  of  the  external  world. 

But  the  true  movement  of  Space  is  Time,  in 
which  the  primal  indifference  of  Nature  passes  into 
difference ;  hence  the  vast  diversity  of  the  Cosmos 
makes  a  start  in  Time,  which  is  thus  the  second 
stage  in  the  process  of  Motion. 

II.  Time.  The  intimate  connection  between 
Space  and  Time  has  long  been  recognized.  The 
Point  is  passively  continuous  in  Space  which  lies 
between  Point  and  Point,  but  continuity  gets 
pointed  in  Time,  which  is  an  active  never-ending 


60  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

line  of  separated  Points;  thus  we  may  conceive 
Extension  passing  into  Succession.  The  Point  is 
subordinate  in  Space  which  has  to  subsume  its  own 
negative,  but  the  Point  is  triumphant  in  Time, 
which  is  the  ever  punctuating  Now.  Accordingly 
Time  is  the  always  Separating  and  so  is  the  first 
reality  of  Motion,  Space  being  its  potentiaUty. 
Motion,  taken  in  its  complete  process,  must  over- 
come the  unseparated  or  the  purely  continuous  as 
Space,  else  there  could  be  no  real  separation  of  the 
universal  Self  and  hence  no  Nature. 

What  we  called  the  Totality  of  Space  with  its 
three  dimensions  exhausted  the  Point  as  spatial 
or  continuous.  There  arose  an  order  in  Space,  but 
this  order  being  purely  spatial,  had  no  real  limit, 
and  so  fell  back  into  chaos .  The  Point,  the  negative 
of  Space,  must  get  reality,  which  it  does  in  Time, 
and  must  build  a  new  order,  which  has  to  over- 
come the  blank  passive  continuity  of  Space.  The 
Point  is  the  turning-point  of  the  transition  of  Space 
into  Time.  We  saw  it  also  as  the  pivot  of  the 
germinal  process  of  Space,  which  showed  the  three 
stages:  Continuity,  Point,  return  to  Continuity  in 
the  linear.  But  Time  has  a  different  germinal 
process  as  we  shall  see  later. 

Space  seems  to  hover  between  the  sensible  and 
the  supersensible,  even  between  the  real  and  un- 
real; we  come  to  see  it  as  Hmited,  but  this 
limit  vanishes  easily  mto  the  unhmited,  where 
fleet  imagmation  cannot  catch  it .     Time  as  the  ne- 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — TIME.  61 

gation  of  the  extended  is  hardly  visible,  yet  is 
present,  yea,  is  an  eternal  presence.  Time  must 
be  deemed  more  subjective  than  Space;  objectivity 
has  been  refused  to  both  by  some  minds.  Time 
through  its  self-separation  resembles  the  Ego,  but 
it  has  no  complete  self-return,  being  continuous  just 
in  its  separation.  Thus  the  Ego  includes  Time, 
but  Time  does  include  the  Ego,  which,  though 
temporal,  is  also  the  restoration  out  of  the  tem- 
poral. The  Point  in  Time  is  self-repellent,  it  can 
no  longer  stay  quietly  with  itself,  as  in  Space. 

Time  has  likewise  the  dual,  contradictory  char- 
acter, which  is  in  Motion,  and  indeed  in  Nature. 
It  is  the  most  fleeting  of  all  creation,  yet  the  most 
persistent.  When  I  look,  it  is  gone,  and  yet  when 
gone  it  is  back  again.  Which  is  it.  Being  or  non- 
Being?  While  it  is,  it  is  not,  and  while  it  is  not,  it 
is ;  the  contradiction  between  the  Vanishing  and 
the  Permanent  is  Time's  very  existence.  It  is  the 
form  of  the  Cosmos  as  perishable,  yet  also  as 
eternal;  Nature,  Man,  the  Universe,  are  ever  dying 
in  Time,  yet  ever  being  born  again  in  Time,  we 
say;  rather  they  are  temporal,  finite,  evanescent, 
but  likewise  enduring,  negating  their  negative 
Time,  which  is  in  them  rather  than  they  in  it.  The 
so-called  stream  of  Time  courses  through  them, 
quite  as  much  as  they  through  it. 

The  Point  is  the  negation  of  continuity,  yet  is 
continuous  in  its  negation,  and  so  rays  out  into  a 
line  of  ever-recurring  Points.     From  this  aspect  of 


62  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

it  Time  has  duration  endless,  or  is  always  ending 
yet  always  beginning  again.  It  is  the  image  of 
complete  self-alienation,  yet  forever  in  pursuit  of 
itself  and  never  overtaking  itself.  Time  manifests 
the  mighty  striving  of  Nature  to  overcome  her 
separation  from  the  universal  Self,  and  in  this 
character  will  accompany  Nature  to  her  close. 
Space  shows  not  yet  such  a  striving,  it  is  rela- 
tively stagnation,  quiescent,  unborn;  it  is  the  po- 
tential, the  latent,  which,  however,  must  become 
real;  it  is  the  Cosmos  simply  lying  alongside  of 
itself  and  waiting  to  be  a  mere  empty  along- 
sideness  or  co-existence ;  while  Time  is  the  Cosmos 
pushing  after  itself  in  all  speed,  and  never  catch- 
ing up,  a  very  active  if  void  afterness .  Time  is 
ever  moving  out  of  Space,  step  by  step,  that  is 
moment  by  moment;  these  steps  are  indeed  infi- 
nitely short,  but  the  universe  steps  with  them,  and 
is  therein  divided  through  and  through  by 
Time,  which  may  be  hence  said  puncture  (punc- 
tum,  point)  the  same  every  moment.  A  figure 
of  Time  represents  it  as  radiant  from  its  cen- 
tral sun,  the  Now,  radiating  its  separation  to  infinity- 
both  rearward  and  forward,  to  past  and  future. 

Here  the  question  thrusts  itself  upon  us,  Can 
this  so  deeply  contradictory  Time  be  put  into  any 
order?  It  seems  to  be  perpetually  undoing  itself 
after  positing  itself,  it  is  the  pure  act  of  change,  of 
self-undoing  in  Nature.  Can  it  be  brought  into 
any  lines  which  show  that  it  too  has  a  process, 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — TIME,  63 

yea  a  psychical  process,  though  far  off  from  its 
creator?  Like  Space  its  essence  seems  to  be  recal- 
citrant to  any  shape,  being  the  dissolver  of  all 
shapes.  Notwithstanding  its  breaching  power, 
Time  cannot  break  outside  of  the  All;  it  is  an  ele- 
ment, yes,  a  necessary  element  of  the  Cosmos,  and 
hence  we  must  see  it  in  its  place  and  also  in  its 
own  inner  order. 

1 .  TJie  Temporal  Process.  The  task  is  to  find" 
and  to  formulate  the  immediate  germinal  process 
of  Time  as  it  appears  before  us.  Doubtless  we 
have  subjectively  to  think  it,  or  rather  re-think  it, 
for  it  is  already  a  thought  existent  in  the  Cosmos. 

(a)  Time  is  primarily  the  non-extended,  the 
active  negation  of  continuity — the  Point  as 
Moynent.  Already  we  have  dwelt  upon  the  pivotal 
transition  of  the  spatial  Point  into  the  temporal. 
This  Hes  in  the  self-contradiction  of  Space,  which 
is  thus  driven  over  to  its  opposite. 

(6)  Time  as  the  Moment  is  the  negation  of  con- 
tinuity, but  of  necessity  must  continue  its  nega- 
tion— ^the  Moment  as  continuous,  or  the  knotted 
line  of  Time.  Or  we  may  say  that  the  Point  as 
non-spatial  must  still  be  spatial  or  contain  Space 
in  order  to  negate  the  same,  and  thus  to  become 
itself.  Here  rises  the  fact  of  discreteness  of  Time, 
or  Time  separated  continuously.  All  the  extension  of 
Space  is  compressed  into  a  Moment,  yet  that  Mo- 
ment in  its  turn  is  extended  beyond  and  beyond — a 
linked  chain  of  Moments. 


64  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

(c)     Time  is  the  Moment  ever  coming  back  to 
itself  and  starting  again — it    is  oscillatory.    The 
Moment  is  always  separating  from  itself  yet  always 
coming  back  to  itself.     Hence  Time  is  not  simply 
continuous  but  oscillatory  in  its  smallest   division. 
Thus  Time  begins  already  to    create    shapes    and 
to  round   them  off;  it  is  the  pure   unfilled  form 
of  Evolution,  which  likewise  unfolds  from  form  to 
form.     In  Time  all   has  birth   and  decay  and  re- 
birth,   these    are    in    Time,    we    say,    but  more 
truly    is    Time    in   them,    a     necessary    element 
of  their  being.     Through  Time  all  Nature  becomes 
oscillatory,  and   begins  to  get  organized,  starting 
its  processes,  which  are  temporal   rounds  at  first 
hand.    The  Moment  of  Time  in  which  you  now  are 
is  the  primordial  oscillation  of  Nature,  yet  is  also 
yours    and    contains  all  your  processes.     Science 
seems  to  be  getting  more  and  more   oscillatory,  or 
vibratory,  or  undulatory,  or  however  else  it  may- 
be designated.     \^ery  suggestive  is  the   oscillation 
of  the  pendulum   as  the  measm-e   of  Time,  being 
the  outer  visible  image  of  every  Moment  as  well  of 
great   periods.     Every  particle   of  Time  however 
minute,   is   oscillatory,   and   suggests    the    cycle. 
Time  as   continuous  we  may  conceive  as  a  chain 
composed  of  links,  going  out  and  coming  back, 
oscillating  in  endless  multiplicity. 

2.  The  temporal  elements  (dimensions).  Such  is 
the  new  division  of  Time  into  what  we  may  call  its 
elements,  or  possibly   its  dimensions,    since  they 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — TIME.  65 

have  in  tliem  the  idea  of  measurement.  They  are 
Ukewise  three,  indissolubly  connected,  yet  not 
interchangeable  like  those  of  Space  which  are  of 
indifferent  extension,  and  not  of  differentiated 
succession.  That  is,  the  three  dimensions  of  Time 
— Present,  Past,  and  Future— are  all  different 
from  one  another  qualitatively,  but  they  form  to- 
gether one  process.  In  Space  itself  difference  could 
hardly  be  posited,  except  from  the  outside.  Space 
being  the  indifference  of  Nature;  but  in  Time  dif- 
ference is  posited  from  the  inside,  is  its  reality 
(hence  T'mw  is  the  second  stage). 

(a)  In  the  knotted  line  of  Time  the  succession 
of  Moments  as  real  we  call  the  Present.  It  fleets 
from  this  Now  to  another  Now,  which,  however, 
is  just  the  same,  and  so  is  even-  present,  indeed  the 
Present.  Always  going,  yet  coming  back,  it  trem- 
bles between  Being  and  non-Being;  it  strangely 
arises  into  vanishing  and  vanishes  into  ai-ising,  thus 
balancing  pei-petually  between  birth  and  death. 
In  this  oscillatory  IMoment  called  the  Present  we 
persist,  always-  living  and  always  dying;  that  is, 
always  oscillating  with  it,  for  we  are  of  it  as  well 
as  it  is  of  us.  In  this  whirl  of  the  Present  I  exist, 
for  there  is  no  stopping  it,  and  it  exists  in  me,  for 
I  too  am  of  Nature  and  share  in  this  her  primor- 
dial oscillation. 

(h)  The  second  dimension  of  Time  measured 
from  the  Present  is  the  Past  out  of  which  the  Pres- 
ent   has    evolved,    b  it    which    the  Present   also 


66  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

evolves.  For  the  Present  is  on  one  side  the  prod- 
uct and  on  the  other  the  producer  of  the  Past, 
which  it  flings  backward  out  of  itself.  History, 
Evolution,  Knowledge  lie  imbedded  in  the  Past, 
and  we  have  to  go  back  and  dig  them  up  in  order 
to  find  out  what  we  are  and  how  we  got  to  be. 
Evolution  is  the  gi*eat  watchword  of  this  century; 
the  Present  has  as  its  chief  task  to  go  back  and 
evolve  itself,  the  Present, out  of  the  Past.  Such  is, 
then,  Time's  cycle  here:  the  Past  is  always  evolv- 
ing the  Present,  which  in  its  turn  is  always  evolv- 
ing the  Past.  To  be  sure  I  make  the  Past  evolve 
the  Present,  for  that  is  in  me  too  as  well  as  in 
itself.    Thus  the  Past  also  is  oscillatory. 

(c)  The  third  dimension  of  Time  measured  from 
the  Present  is  the  Future,  the  unevolved  which  is 
to  be  evolved,  the  hereafter  projected  as  an  ideal 
counterpart  of  the  heretofore.  Both  Past  and 
Future  are  alike  in  being  non-existent,  contrasting 
with  the  sole  existent  Present  though  in  very  dif- 
ferent ways.  The  Present  mediates  them,  it  has 
been  the  one  and  will  be  the  other.  Still  on  the 
other  hand  the  Present  never  has  been  and  never 
will  be,  it  simply  is;  the  three  dimensions  of  Time 
must  persist  in  their  separation  and  in  their  pro- 
cess together.  When  the  Present  gets  to  be 
Future,  there  is  still  another  Future;  when  the 
Present  gets  to  be  Past,  there  is  still  another  Pres- 
ent. On  the  one  side  the  Future  is  always  going 
forward,  on  the  other  side  it  is  always  going  back- 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — TIME.  67 

ward  and  becoming  the  Past  through  the  Present. 
Thus  the  Future  is  also  oscillatory  in  its  complete 
conception  and  shares  in  this  ultimate  essence  of 
Time. 

Each  of  these  three  dimensions  of  Time — Pres- 
ent, Past,  and  Future — has  an  oscillation  as  its 
soul,  and  now  the  final  fact  of  them  is  to  be  noted: 
they  all  together  form  one  vast  oscillation,  of  which 
the  progressive  movement  is  from  Past  through 
Present  to  Future,  and  ot  which  the  regressive 
movement  is  from  Future  through  Present  to 
Past. 

3.  The  temporal  Totality.  Corresponding  to 
the  spatial  Totality  unfolds  the  temporal  Totality 
embracing  all  the  dimensions  of  Time — Present, 
Past,  and  Future.  That  which  was  oscillatory  in 
the  Moment  of  Time,  is  now  oscillatory  in  the  Uni- 
verse of  Time,  so  that  the  least  and  the  largest  are 
united  in  one  common  process.  The  huge  and 
ever  lengthening  chain  of  duration  is  composed 
persistently  of  three  links  which  interlink — not 
their  number  but  their  size  may  increase^  The 
whole  Cosmos  oscillates  in  Time,  and  that  is  prop- 
erly its  first  Motion,  which  is  ever  separating,  yet 
ever  seeking  to  return  to  its  source. 

In  this  temporal  Totality  or  Universe  of  Time, 
we  may  catch  certain  far-off  flashes  of  an  order. 

{a)  The  temporal  Totality  is  primarily  Eternity 
or  eternal  duration,  without  beginning  or  end. 
Thus  Time  strives  to  reach  backwards   and  for- 


68  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

wards  beyond  itself,  to  its  source  which  is  not 
Time  but  its  creator.  Time  is  thus  the  pure  form 
of  aspiration  in  Nature,  to  be  sure  without  inner  con- 
tent. What  it  aspires  for  is  the  All-Self  from 
which  it  has  separated,  and  is  eternally  separating. 
Given  the  universe,  Time  has  no  beginning  and  no 
end,  being  an  element  or  stage  of  the  universal 
process.  With  eternity  is  connected  the  idea  of 
immortality  which  affirms  the  human  soul  to  have 
within  itself  the  temporal  Totality. 

(6)  The  temporal  Totality  as  eternity  divides 
in  twain  and  becomes  two  eternities — an  eternal 
Past  and  an  eternal  Future.  These  are  different 
from  the  dimensions  of  Time  already  considered — 
the  adjective  makes  the  difference.  Moreover  each 
has  through  this  adjective  become  contradictory: 
the  Past  is  bounded  by  the  Present  and  cannot  be 
eternal;  so  too  the  Future  is  bounded  by  the  Pres- 
ent. The  result  is  that  innnortality  is  cleft  in  the 
middle  as  it  were,  and  calls  up  the  dual  doctrines 
prc-existence  and  post-existence,  which  have 
caused  no  little  discussion  both  in  the  heathen  and 
Christian  worlds.  Then  both  Past  and  Future  are 
non-existent  and  from  this  point  of  view  are  very 
hard  to  eternize.  So  the  intermediate  link  of 
Time's  chain  again  appears,  but  with  new  power. 

(c)  The  temporal  Totality  is  conceived  as  eter- 
nity in  the  Now,  or  as  tJie  eternal  No2V.  This  is 
the  sole  reality  of  Time,  embracing  in  its  sweep  or 
oscillation  the   other  two  ideal  elements,  without 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— TIME.  69 

which  indeed  the  Now  could  not  be  eternal.  The 
Now  as  mere  moment  is  the  most  tremulous,  un- 
stable, evanescent  of  existences,  a  flutter  of  the 
vanishing.  But  it  persists  ever  present,  and  be- 
comes eternal  if  filled  with  its  own  ideal  elements, 
the  Past  and  the  Future.  You  are  to  do  this 
indeed;  but  it  already  lies  in  the  nature  of  the  Now 
to  become  eternal.  The  Now,  as  we  have  seen  it 
in  the  complete  process  of  Time,  eternizes  itself; 
and  the  question  with  you  is.  Will  you  eternize 
yourself  along  with  it,  or  live  in  the  moment,  in 
the  ephemeral  Now.  Dante  calls  up  the  thought 
in  a  passage  which  tells  of  Brunetto  teaching  him 
how  man  makes  himself  eternal:  Come  Viiomo 
s'eterna. 

Still  the  eternal  Now  as  purely  temporal  is  for- 
ever going  beyond  itself,  shows  itself  unfinished 
and  unfinishable,  having  always  a  new  limit  to 
transcend.  Tinu>  like  Space  refuses  to  be  a  total- 
ity at  last,  so  that  its  totality  turns  out  no  total- 
ity. Here  again  we  again  ol)sorve  that  peculiar 
dialectical  i)lay  of  Nature  in  one  of  her  forms,  that 
of  Time,  which  is  on  the  one  side  the  most  unsta- 
ble, and  on  the  other  the  most  persistent  of  cos- 
mical  entities.  Indecnl  Time  may  be  called  the 
pure  dialectic  of  Nature,  her  sc^paration  active  and 
real  in  itself,  in  its  sin.i)le  isolation. 

Fn  m  a  psyehical  \)<)\n{  of  view  Time  is  a  very 
suggestive  and  deep-i-eacliing  manifestation.  Of 
the  Psychosis  in  its  second  or  separative  stage.  Time 


70  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

may  be  taken  as  the  universal  symbol  or  outer 
adumbration  in  Nature.  We  put  it  under  Motion 
of  which  it  is  the  first  and  purest  reahzation.  One 
may  indeed  ask,  which  is  prior,  Time  or  Motion? 
As  we  conceive  and  formulate  it,  Motion  is  the 
first  derivation  of  Nature  from  the  Pampsychosis, 
and  Time  is  a  stage  in  its  process,  the  second  or 
separative.  Time  is,  therefore,  not  the  whole  of 
Motion,  but  rather  its  divider,  its  quantifier  sepa- 
rating it  into  bits  which  are  yet  to  be  ordered  in 
Quantity.  But  this  is  a  new  stage  which  must 
next  become  explicit. 

III.  Quantity.  We  are  seeking  to  put  into  its 
place  in  Nature  pure  Quantity,  not  some  particular 
amount  or  quantity  of  something,  which  comes 
later.  Quantity  is  on  the  one  hand  a  mental  con- 
cept, yet  it  is  also  existent  as  well  as  Space  and 
Time.  The  Cosmos  is  quantitative  as  well  as  spa- 
tial and  temporal;  indeed  both  Space  and  Time 
are  quantitative,  each  in  its  own  way;  Quantity 
may  be  deemed  an  evolution  out  of  them,  becom- 
ing explicit  and  existent  in  its  own  right.  These 
three  primordial  elements  of  Nature  we  put 
together  in  this  order:  Space,  Time,  Quantity, 
which  form  a  process  that  bears  a  psychical  im- 
press. Doubtless  this  third  clement  seems  unusual 
in  such  company;  Space  and  Time  are  the  Sia- 
mese twins  of  philosophy  and  science,  intergrown 
seemingly  and  quite  inseparable;  while  the  third 
member  of  the  group,  Quantity,  appears  at  first 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— QUANTITY.  71 

sight  an  'alien.  But  he  will  soon  get  naturahzed  if 
treated  with  some  degree  of  regard  and  sympathy. 

The  next  point  to  be  noted  is  that  this  Quantity 
is  subsumed  under  Motion,  the  Separating  in  the 
Cosmos;  that  is,  Quantity  is  a  form  or  stage  of 
Motion.  Such  a  view  may  seem  a  little  strange  at 
first;  but  we  have  become  used  to  the  expression 
that  Heat,  Light,  and  Electricity  are  modes  of  Mo- 
tion, which  is  coming  to  be  regarded  as  an  ulti- 
mate, irreducible  element  of  Nature.  We  may  say 
that  Quantity  is  one  mode  or  manifestation  of  Mo- 
tion, among  many  others  indeed.  Certainly  Mo- 
tion is  quantitative,  measurable;  Quantity  seems 
to  lurk  in  it  as  its  very  essence;  in  fact  many 
scientists  declare  that  the  only  real  knowledge  we 
can  have  of  Motion  or  even  of  Nature  is  its  Quan- 
tity expressed  mathematically.  That  is  probably 
going  too  far,  for  surely  there  are  qualitative 
phases  of  Nature  which  we  can  also  know,  and 
which  are  not  given  by  a  mathematical  fornuila. 
Still  Quantity  is  an  elemental  constituent  or  stage 
of  Motion  and  must  be  put  into  the  order. 

Can  we  see  how  it  comes  about  that  Quantity 
lies  primordially  in  Motion?  We  must  recall  that 
Motion  is  Separation,  or  more  exactly  the  Separat- 
ing in  the  Cosmos.  How  great  is  the  separation, 
how  much?  Quantity  {llow-muclmess  literally) 
cannot  be  divorced  from  any  kind  of  external  Scp- 
eration.  Motion,  going  on  and  on,  is  inherently 
quantitative.     So  is  all  Nature,  which  is  the  Sepa- 


72  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

ration  from  the  universal  Self  to  which  the  con- 
ception of  Quantity  goes  back.  Underlying  every 
quantitative  procedure  is  found  ultimately  the 
problem:  How  great  is  this  Separation  here  and 
now  from  the  All-Ego  which  is  its  source?  To 
be  sure  there  is  no  unit  of  measure  in  this 
primordial  Quantity ;  we  cannot  tell  in  miles  or  de- 
grees the  amount  of  Nature's  Separation  from  her 
creative  fountain;  still  such  a  Separation  has  in  it 
Quantity,  verily,  the  original  Quantity,  which 
becomes  manifest  in  Motion  as  the  ever-separat- 
ing. 

There  rises  another  thought  in  the  present  con- 
nection: if  Motion  possesses  inherently  Quantity, 
this  must  also  show  itself  in  the  other  two  forms 
or  stages,  Space  and  Time.  It  has  been  already 
remarked  that  each  of  these  in  its  own  way  is 
quantitative,  and  now  we  see  that  this  must  be  true 
of  them  as  elements  of  Motion.  And  there  is  a 
distinction  between  all  these  forms  of  Motion  from 
the  present  point  of  view.  Motion  as  quantifyable 
(as  the  potentiality  of  Quantity)  is  Space;  Motion 
as  quantifying  (as  the  active  process  per  se)  is 
Time ;  Motion  as  quantified  (as  the  process  finished) 
is  Quantity  itself.  That  is,  the  completed  quanti- 
fication of  Motion  is  pure  or  abstract  Quantity 
which,  we  rej)eat,  belongs  to  Nature  as  an  object- 
ive fact,  and  is  not  merely  a  product  of  mind 
applied  somehow  externally  to  Nature.  The  quan- 
titative interdependence   of  the  three  elemental 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— QUANTITY.  73 

stages  of  Motion  nia}'  be  summarized  in  the  state- 
ment: Motion  quantify  able,  quantifying,  quan- 
tified— Space,  Time,  Quantity. 

That  these  elements  lie  deep  in  Mind  and  Nat- 
ure may  be  seen  in  a  small  example:  How  long  did 
d  last?  In  this  simple  question  are  interwrought 
Space  (long)  and  Time  {last)  and  Quantity  {how 
much) ;  and  they  together  are  conceived  as  a  pro- 
cess or  cycle  of  Motion  with  beginning  and  end 
rounding  it  out.  Neither  Space  nor  Time  can 
completely  quantify  or  measure  Motion;  that  re- 
(piires  the  presence  of  (Quantity  itself,  elusive  as  it 
may  be.  Quantity  is  measured  Motion  (not  meas- 
ured Matter,  whereof  later).  Pure  Motion  quan- 
tified is  nothing  but  pure  Quantity,  as  it  is  in  itself  * 
(How-muchness).  Quantity  returns  to  Space, 
which  is  onl}'  the  (juantifyable  primarily,  and 
(luantifies  it,  for  instance  in  a  triangle,  and  in 
other  spatial  figures,  which  show  a  how-much  of 
Space,  a  Quantum  thei-eof. 

Quantity  in  its  present  aspect  may  be  deemed 
the  getting  of  the  Quantum;  that  is,  it  makes  the 
indefinite  elements  of  Motion  (Space  and  Time) 
definite,  or  at  least  starts  that  way,  by  imposing 
upon  them  the  How-much.-  It  throws  a  noose 
around  those  two  wild  nags  absolutely  running  at 
large,  (juite  without  restraint.  Quantity,  there- 
tore,  holds  up  Motion,  making  it  turn  back  upon 
itself  and  thus  producing  the  first  standard  of 
measuring,  which  is  U;  have  a  great  future. 


74  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

We  have  already  often  spoken  of  measurements 
and  dimensions  in  connection  with  Space  and 
Time,  and  also  of  Quantity  as  measured  Motion. 
In  order  to  avoid  possible  confusion  we  may  say  in 
advance  that  Measure  proper  as  the  third  stage  of 
the  elemental  Cosmos  (along  with  Motion  and 
Matter),  is  quite  different  from  Quantity,  which  is 
not  yet  strictly  mathematical.  We  may  illustrate : 
a  triangle  is  Space  quantified,  being  so  much  of 
Space;  it  is  indeed  a  pure  Quantity,  a  stage  of 
Motion  quantified.  But  when  we  say  of  this  tri- 
angle that  the  sum  of  its  three  angles  is  equal  to 
two  right  angles,  we  are  measuring  Space  already 
quantified  simply,  we  are  really  quantifying  Quan- 
tity, and  have  entered  the  mathematical  science  of 
Geometry,  which  lies  in  the  sphere  of  Measure  and 
presupposes  Quantity.  Measure  is,  therefore,  rather 
the  Quantity  of  Quantity,  or  Quantity  made  to 
return  upon  itself  and  to  quantify  itself  anew. 
This  calls  forth  Mathematics,  as  we  shall  here- 
after see.  Moreover  Matter  lies  between  Motion 
and  Measure,  and  helps  produce  Measure  which 
then  measures  it.  Motion  and  Matter  are  the 
antecedents  of  Measure,  in  the  elemental  Cosmos, 
while  Space  and  Time  are  the  antecedents  of 
Quantity,  in  the  process  of  Motion. 

Let  us  present  this  subject  from  another  point  of 
view.  Mathematics  is  usually  called  the  science  of 
Quantity;  evidently  then  Quantity  must  have 
already  an   existence  in   order  to  be  scientifically 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— QUANTITY.  75 

treated.  In  like  manner  Nature  must  exist  before 
any  science  of  it  is  possible.  Now  this  primordial 
Quantity  is  what  we  wish  here  to  grasp  in  itself 
and  to  co-ordinate  in  its  place  as  a  part  of  the  uni- 
verse. It  is  presupposed  in  all  systems  of  Meas- 
ure, being  their  condition  or  original  source;  Math- 
ematics starts  with  Quantity  as  something  given  or 
primordially  existent,  and  unfolds  its  forms,  com- 
binations, laws.  What  we  here  wish  to  do  is  to 
evolve  it  into  its  true  place  in  Nature,  to  which  it 
belongs ;  then  in  due  order  will  follow  its  developed 
science  which  is  likewise  a  part  of  Nature's  science, 
though  by  no  means  all  of  it.  Quantity  in  this 
sense  is  a  very  abstract,  elusive  entity;  indeed  we 
have  to  reach  back  to  it  out  of  its  embodiment  in 
Matter  and  then  in  Mathematics  (Measure). 

Has  this  very  subtle  intangible  Quantity,  exist- 
ent before  Matter  and  before  Measure  proper,  any 
discernible  hnes  of  order  running  through  it?  We 
think  that  it  has  and  must  have,  and  that  these 
lines  will  be  outlines  of  the  psychical  process  of 
their  creative  source.  They  may  be  faint  and 
fleeting  as  they  have  to  cast  the  shadowy  image  of 
Separation  itself  ever-separating,  and  to  stake  off 
its  primal  measurements.  So  we  must  brace  to 
the  etherial  task  of  fencing  off  into  its  divisions 
pure  Quantity.  Some  help  we  may  get  at  the 
start  by  observing  that  its  organization  is  and 
must  be  quite  parallel  to  that  of  its  two  kindred 
elements,  Space  and  Time. 


76  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

1.  The  Quantitative  Process.  Quantity  holds  in 
itself  implicitly  Space  and  Time,  which  it  is  to 
render  explicit  by  quantifying  them,  by  the  quan- 
titative Process.  We  may  conceive  Quantity  re- 
turning to  the  continuity  of  Space  and  dividing  it  up 
through  the  divisions  of  Time  which  become  so 
many  units  of  measurement.  Quantity  rounds  out 
Space  in  Time  and  through  Time.  From  my  eye 
to  yonder  house  I  see  Space,  so  much  of  it,  quan- 
tified; there  is  a  ls:ind  of  oscillation  between  me 
and  it,  forwards  and  backwards,  which  is  in  Time 
and  through  Time.  So  also  I  look  back  to  an 
event  of  my  life  in  the  past,  and  round  it  out  be- 
tween now  and  then,  that  is,  quantify  it.  These 
stages,  separately  stated,  are  as  follows: 

(a)  Quantity  is  continuous,  and  so  is  spatial — 
the  return  to  and  unity  with  Space.  It  has  no 
limit  within  itself,  is  unbroken,  has  no  multiplicity 
or  separation;  it  is  through  and  through  one  and 
the  same  within  itself.  Yet  Quantity  is  not  pure 
Space,  but  Space  quantified,  bounded  on  the  out- 
side; it  is  so  much  and  no  more — a  limited  contin- 
uity, or  so  nuich  i)()tontiality  of  Motion.  So 
Quantity  as  continuous  comes  to  an  end,  in  fact  it 
goes  over  to  its  opposite  and  is  discontinuous  or 
divisive  within  itself.  That  is.  1)(  l;ig  bounded  on 
the  outside  it  is  likewise  Ijoiuidc  d  on  the  inside, 
seeing  that  S[)ace  or  continuity  is  beyond  the 
limit  also,  and  goes  on.  Thus  seiJiiration  enters 
Quantity   and   it   thereby  bcco  ncs   divisible   and 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS—QUANTITY.  77 

discrete^-a  continuity  not  of   one,  but  of   many 
ones. 

(6)  Quantity  is  discrete  and  so  is  temporal — 
the  return  to  and  unity  with  Time  in  its  separa- 
tiveness.  Quantity  is  now  not  the  unbrol^en  One, 
but  the  broken  ones  which  are  still  the  same,  each 
with  the  other.  Continuity  has  its  limit  not 
merely  outside  but  inside;  it  is  the  continuity  of 
discreteness,  the  line  of  Time  with  its  ever-suc- 
ceeding moments.  Yd  Quantity  as  discrete  is  not 
pure  Time,  but  Time  (luantified — limited  yet 
always  transcending  the  limit;  it  is  discreteness 
yet  always  breaking  ev(^r  into  continuity  and  thus 
becoming  its  opposite.  Now  this  opposite  is  no 
longer  merely  Quantity  as  continuous,  for  this  has  be- 
come "discrete,  Init  discrete  Quantity  as  continuous, 
or  a  continuous  Quantity  limited  inside  and  outside. 

(c)  Quantity  has  therein  become  the  Quantum 
(literally  translated,  abstract  How-muchness  has 
evolved  into  the  special  How-much).  It  is  the  unit 
of  measure,  still  as  general;  Quantity  has  pro- 
duced what  ({uantifies,  or  the  universal  ciuantifier. 
Limited  continuity  (spatial)  made  successive  (tem- 
poral) gives  the  standard  l\v  which  measurement 
takes  place — the  Quantum.  In  Time  Nature  has 
begun  to  measure  herself,  but  cannot,  as  she  has 
yet  no  Quantum,  no  measuring  rod,  no  survey- 
or's chain,  ever  repeating  its  measurements  or 
Quanta.  IucUhhI  the  surveyor's  chain  may  be 
taken  as  the  typical  Quantum  with  its  Umited  con^ 


78  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tinuity  (Space)  composed  of  many  separate  links 
(Time),  the  whole  measming  an  amount.  Or 
more  technically  stated,  the  Quantum  quantifies 
Quantity,  and  completes  what  we  have  called  the 
quantitative  Process,  which  is  properly  Motion 
quantified,  meted  out  by  its  unit  of  measure.  The 
Quantum  in  its  complete  sweep  should  be  con- 
ceived as  an  oscillation  or  cycle,  a  starting  forth 
and  a  coming  back  to  start  forth  again  in  the 
measurement. 

We  must,  however,  recollect  that  in  this  abstract 
primal  stage  the  material  Quantum  as  unit  of 
Measure  has  not  yet  been  reached.  We  are  still 
in  pure  Motion,  Matter  is  to  come  with  its  concrete 
How-much.  The  surveyor's  chain  is  but  an  illus- 
tration taken  from  the  sensible  material  world.  It 
may  be  noticed  here  that  the  atom  which  plays 
such  an  important  part  in  modern  science  rests 
originally  upon  the  conception  of  the  Quantum, 
since  its  purpose  is  to  be  a  unit  of  measure  for  the 
physical  universe.  Also  the  ion,  the  electron,  and 
perchance  the  etherion,  though  they  put  their 
stress  upon  other  elements,  go  back  to  the  primor- 
dial quantitative  idea  of  the  How-much  in  order  to 
measure  and  then  put  together  their  temple  of 
Nature.  Even  the  Ego  may  be  construed  as  a 
Quantum,  but  of  a  peculiar  kind  which  turns  back 
and  quantifies  itself  and  all  other  Quanta  from  this 
earliest  most  abstract  one  to  the  last  most  con- 
crete one,  namely  itself. 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— QUANTITY.  79 

A  very  famous  statement  of  the  inherent  contra- 
diction of  Quantity  is  found  in  Kant's  first  anti- 
nomy, which  affirms  on  the  one  hand  the  quanti- 
tative discreteness  of  the  world  (Matter  and  also 
Motion)  and  then  the  quantitative  continuity  of 
the  same.  Kant's  conclusion  is  negative,  denying 
to  Reason,  which  to  him  seems  to  assert  equally 
two  contradictory  opposites,  the  power  of  knowing 
truth.  The  fatality  in  Kant's  proof  is  that  he 
takes  the  World  in  two  senses.  (See  our  Modern 
European  Philosophy,  p.  559.)  Still  Kant  has 
done  the  service  of  suggesting  two  stages  of  the 
quantitative  process,  continuity  and  discreteness, 
but  he  leaves  out  the  third,  the  Quantum,  which 
may  be  conceived  as  the  unity  and  reconciliation 
of  his  antinomy. 

Every  particle  we  are  taught  by  science  to  gi*asp 
both  as  milhons  and  millionths,  infinitely  contin- 
uous and  infinitely  discrete — that  is  practically  the 
Kantian  antinomy  supposed  to  be  unthinkable 
by  virtue  of  its  contradiction.  Still  we  do  think 
it  and  em^ploy  both  its  opposite  sides  constantly. 
But  they  should  be  united  in  the  Quantum,  the 
original  ideal  unit  for  measuring  the  universe. 
This  is  the  basic  principle  underlying  all  mensura- 
tion, of  which  we  may  note  certain  appHcations, 
made  as  it  were  by  Nature  herself,  in  the  following 
item  on  Quantitative  Dimensions.  The  one  ideal 
of  measure  or  the  universal  Quantum  is  thus  seen 
in  some  of  its  real  forms. 


80  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

2.  Quantitative  Dimensions.  These  may  be 
taken  as  quantifiers  of  Motion,  and  they  are  mani- 
fold. They  are  not  so  definite  or  inherently  nec- 
essary as  are  the  dimensions  of  Space  or  of  Time, 
which  are  just  three  and  no  more.  All  moving 
bodies  may  be  deemed  quantifiers  of  Motion, 
marking  off  so  much  Motion  through  so  much 
Space  in  so  much  Time. 

(a)  The  heavenly  bodies,  Earth,  Moon,  Stars, 
are  the  most  immediate  quantifiers  of  Motion,  and 
thereby  measurers  of  Time.  They  make  their 
cycles  and  thus  round  out  a  period — day,  month, 
year.  Natm'e  in  this  way  gives  the  first  real 
Quantum,  or  Motion  quantified. 

(6)  To  these  dimensions  given  by  Nature,  Man 
adds  his  own,  dividing  them  arbitrarily  for  his 
special  purposes.  For  instance  the  natural  cycle 
of  a  day  he  separates  into  hours,  minutes,  seconds, 
which  are  artificial  repetitions  of  what  is  suggested 
by  Nature.  Man  learns  from  Nature  to  quantify 
Motion,  making  a  Quantum  of  his  own,  which 
always  involves  the  cycle — so  much  Motion  meas- 
ured or  cycled. 

(f )  Nature  and  Man  co-operate  to  produce  what 
may  be  regarded  as  the  universal  quantifier  of  Mo- 
tion—the Pendulum.  By  it  the  oscillation  be- 
comes visible  and  the  measurer  of  Time,  Space, 
and  Motion,  the  universal  Dimension,  in  so  far  as 
this  has  yet  been  realized. 

It  must  be  again  emphasized  that  the  foregoing 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— QUANTITY.  81 

Quantitative  Dimensions  or  measuring  units  are 
manifestations  in  the  real  world  of  the  original 
ideal  Quantum  or  primal  measure  of  the  All.  Each 
of  these  cited  instances  will  again  come  up  in  their 
proper  places;  especially  the  Pendulum  will  ap- 
pear in  its  own  right  when  we  reach  the  forms  of 
the  realized  Cosmos. 

Out  of  this  multiplicity  of  Quanta,  this  varied 
manifestation  of  measuring  units,  we  have  to 
march  forward  to  the  unity  of  these  units  through 
their  inner  necessity,  to  the  Quantum  of  all 
Quanta.  This  is  a  new  conception  of  total  Quan- 
tity, mediated  through  its  manifold  particulars, 
which  must  be  next  designated. 

3.  The  Quantitative  Tolaliti/.  Motion  is  not  only 
Quantity  limited  or  measured  but  is  also  Quantity 
as  universal,  rising  above  finite  measurements;  as 
such  it  is  pure  magnitude.  Science  declares  that 
the  Quantity  of  the  imi verse  is  the  same,  not  to  be 
increased  or  diminished.  This  implies  some  kind 
of  measurement;  but  who  measured  the  sum  total 
of  Motion?  Certainly  not  the  scientist  with  all  his 
cunning  instruments.  Tt  is  another  speculation  or 
hypothesis,  but  it  asserts  the  totality  of  Motion  to 
be  a  quantified  something.  It  rises  from  the  spe- 
cific Quanta  into  the  universal  Quantum,  really 
the  source  of  the  former.  But  this  Quantitative 
Totality  which  we  have  now  reached,  is  not  the 
simple  quantitative  process  (as  continuity,  dis- 
creteness and  (luantuiu)  which  we  have  already  set 


82^  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

forth.  It  has  that  process,  but  something  more. 
It  contains  many  Quanta,  which,  however,  are 
unified  by  thought  into  one  totality.  The  uni- 
verse is  conceived  as  having  the  same  unalterable 
Quantity  of  Motion,  though  the  forms  of  the  same 
are  infinitely  diversified,  for  instance  as  heat,  light, 
electricity.  All  these  are  deemed  modes  or  forms 
of  the  one  Quantity  of  Motion.  Lying  back  of 
the  Natural  Science  of  to-day  we  can  often  observe 
this  conception  of  the  Quantitative  Totality  of 
force,  energy  and  other  forms  of  Motion,  and  even 
of  Matter.  Of  this  fact  we  shall  briefly  note  the 
phases  which  may  be  put  together  in  a  process. 

(a)  The  Quantity  of  Motion  as  one  and  the 
same,  unchangeable  in  amount  implies  its  Conser- 
vation. This  idea  is  better  known  under  the  name 
of  the  Conservation  of  Energy. 

(6)  Still  there  must  be  difference  in  this  totality 
of  Motion;  it  is  particularized,  takes  many  forms, 
and  this  is  the  Transjormatio7i  of  Motion  (or 
of  Energy.)"  Still  amid  all  these  variations 
Motion  remains  so  much  and  no  more.  Not  only 
do  we  conceive  it  to  be  conserved  indestructible, 
but  it  becomes  a  Quantum,  a  limited  Quantity. 

(c)  The  Quantitative  Totality  is  thus  a  Quan- 
tum, and  returns  to  its  first  Process  which 
evolved  a  Quantum;  yet  the  latter  is  no  longer 
particular  but  universal.  From  a  unit  of  meas- 
ure the  Quantum  becomes  the  absolute  unit 
of  Motion.     Quantity  as  Dure  unfolded  the  special 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  —QUANTITY.  83 

Quantufn  which  measured  it ;  but  this  Quantum  in 
turn  has  become  the  Totality,  not  simply  as  pure 
Quantity  again  but  quantified,  that  is,  Quantity 
fixed,  limited.  So  much  Quantity  in  the  universe 
is  the  universal  Quantum,  containing  all  separate 
Quanta,  5^et  itself  a  Quantum.  This  may  be  con- 
ceived to  be  the  original  (juantitativc  One,  source 
of  all  other  ones,  which  Measure,  especially  Arith- 
metic, will  hereafter  take  up  as  given  and  organize 
into  a  mathematical  science.  Yet  this  One  is  like- 
wise All  or  universal ;  sometimes  it  is  designated  as 
the  One-and-All.  But  the  very  expression  con- 
tains the  inherent  contradiction  of  this  entire 
sphere  between  the  Quantum  as  limited  and  as  un- 
limited or  universal.  Still  we  cannot  help  emploj^- 
ing  the  thought:  when  we  say  that  there  is  so 
much  force  or  so  much  heat  in  the  Universe,  the 
statement  rests  upon  the  underlying  conception 
of  the  universal  Quantum,  or  the  limited  One  as 
unlimited.  Here  again  peers  forth  that  dialectic 
of  all  Nature,  which  has  been  repeatedly  noted. 

Accordingly  Motion,  having  unfolded  into  and 
through  Quantity,  becomes  contradictory  and  self- 
negative.  Motion  is  halt(Hl,  indeed  halts  itself, 
can  no  longer  move,  is  no  longcn-  Motion.  It  turns 
to  its  opposite,  it  becomes  fixed,  yea  the  fixed. 
What  is  the  result?  Motion,  having  iim  its 
course,  has  stopped  moving,  as  it  has  come  upon 
its  Hmit.  For  it  is  now  so  much  and  no  more,  it 
has  gone  so  far  but  can  go  no  farther.     The  quan- 


84  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

titative  totality  of  Motion  has  turned  out  a  quan- 
tum of  Motion.  Motion  the  ever-separating  is 
crystahzed  in  its  separation,  and  thus  becomes  the 
separated — Matter.  Motion  stopped,  Hmited,  fixed, 
can  only  be  the  opposite  of  itself.  The  Quantum 
of  Motion  even  as  universal,  bounds  it,  ends  it — 
in  what?  Not  in  pure  nothing,  but  in  its  other, 
which  is  the  Separated.  We  do  not  say  that  there 
is  a  physical  transmutation  of  Motion  into  Matter, 
though  many  physicists  are  now  claiming  the  re- 
verse—  the  transmutation  of  Matter  into  Motion. 
And  some  say  that  Matter  itself  may  be  deemed  a 
mode  or  form  of  Motion,  in  accord  with  a  common 
scientific  formula.  Le  Bon,  the  Belgian  physicist, 
has  supposed  that  ether  is  transformed  into  rigid 
Matter  by  very  rapid  rotary  Motion.  Experiment 
has  hardly  reached  this  point  yet ;  but  the  psy- 
chical transition  from  Motion  to  Matter  is  neces- 
sary. If  we  conceive  Motion  as  the  Separating,  it 
must  of  its  own  inherent  nature  separate  from 
itself,  and  negate  itself,  becoming  its  opposite,  the 
Separated,  which  is  the  basic  predicate  of  Matter. 
The  limitation  of  the  totality  of  Motion  in  the 
Quantum  is  not  a  mere  external  boundary,  as  if 
Motion  were  inside  the  Quantum,  and  Matter  out- 
side. On  the  contrary  the  limit  of  the  Quantum 
reaches  through  and  through  the  totality  of  Mo- 
tion, and  stops  it  at  every  point,  materializing  it 
to  the  last  atom. 

The  science   of  to-day   has   much   to  do  with 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER        85 

Quantity;  in  fact  it  is  bent  on  quantifying  all 
Nature.  Such  a  tendency  is  certainly  legitimate. 
Still  we  are  to  remember  that  Quantity  is  not  to 
be  clapped  upon  Nature  from  the  outside,  being 
an  inner  development  of  it,  an  integral  part  of  its 
process.^  The  Cosmos  is  inherently  mathematical, 
Nature  quantifies  primordially,  and  its  total 
science  should  take  up  and  untold  the  science  of 
Quantity,  which  we  shall  hereafter  find  in  Meas- 
ure. It  may  be  repeated  that  the  present  exposi- 
tion has  sought  to  evolve  Quantity  and  to  co-ordi- 
nate it  in  the  process  of  Motion,  the  most  elemental 
of  all  Nature's  processes.  It  will  come  up  again, 
but  under  new  forms  and  in  new  relations. 


II. 

Mattp]r. 
The  most  difficult  i)roblem  of  Nature  would 
seem  to  be  just  this  of  Matter.  Whence  comes  it? 
What  is  it?  How  does  it  get  to  be?  All  are  rid- 
dles often  declared  inexplicable.  For  instance 
"we  do  not  know  and  arc  probably  incapable  of 
discovering  what  Matter  is"  (Tait.)  Lurking  in 
this  and  similar  statements  one  cannot  help  per- 
ceiving that  fatal  Kantian  category  of  Thing-in- 
itself  {Ding  an  sich) ,  though  Professor  Tait  hotly 
disclaims  metaphysics.  Again  we  read  that  "Mat- 
ter is  that  which  moves,"  simply  the  substrate  of 
all   Motion,  cjuite   unknown   and  unknowable.    A 


86  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

further  reduction  is  found  in  the  proposition  that 
Matter  is  "non-Matter  in  Motion."  This  quite 
sounds  as  if  Matter  has  been  etherialized  into 
Motion,  though  probably  that  is  not  the  intended 
meaning.  On  the  other  hand  Matter  has  been 
completely  electrified  in  the  pronouncement  that 
it  is  "only  electricity  and  nothing  but  electricity." 
So  we  have  the  electronic  theory  of  Matter,  seem- 
ingly the  favorite  of  Science  just  now.  This  view 
seems  to  have  taken  its  start  from  Prof.  J.  J. 
Thomson's  article  (1881)  which  sought  to  show 
that  the  basic  property  of  Matter,  its  inertia,  has 
its  origin  in  electricity.  It  would  follow  as  a  result 
that  gravity  is  also  electrical.  The  difficulty  is 
that  electricity  is  but  one  form  or  manifestation  of 
energy,  while  Matter  includes  or  contains  all  such 
forms.  Hence  there  is  felt  the  necessity  of  rising 
to  a  more  universal  principle  than  the  electron, 
perchance  to  the  etherion.  Such  a  discussion, 
however,  belongs  to  Physics  rather  than  to  Me- 
chanics, not  to  the  Cosmos  but  to  the  Diacosmos, 
where  this  subject  must  again  come  up,  under  elec- 
tricity, or  perchance  under  a  new  branch  of  science, 
which  for  the  nonce  may  be  named  ethericity. 
As  Matter  seems  to  be  the  sensible  fixed  entity 
which  moves,  why  not  put  it  first,  before  Motion? 
The  activity  psychologically  and  logically  is  ante- 
cedent to  the  result,  the  doing  is  before  the  done, 
the  moving  before  the  moved,  and  Motion  before 
Matter.    So  we  may  reconcile  this  fact  to  our  or- 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER.       87 

dinary  experience.  Or  in  the  phraseology  here 
employed,  the  separating  Motion  of  the  physical 
universe  precedes,  in  the  elemental  process  of  the 
Cosmos,  the  Separated  (Matter),  which  cannot 
come  into  being  without  the  previous  act  of  sepa- 
ration. The  same  conception  underlies  the  work 
of  so  many  scientists  who  are  seeking  to  resolve 
all  material  manifestations  into  modes  of  energy, 
or  ultimately  of  Motion.  For  all  energy  or  force 
goes  back  to  separation,  which  may  be  conceived 
as  the  cosmical  Will. 

Of  our  Elemental  Cosmos,  accordingly,  we  put 
Matter  into  the  second  place,  after  Motion,  of 
which  it  is  the  opposite.  Yet  both  belong  to  the 
realm  of  Nature,  of  which  they  are  said  by  many 
scientists  to  be  the  two  primordial,  but  inconvertible 
elements;  beyond  them  science,  it  is  further  de- 
clared, has  not  been  able  to  penetrate.  Already 
we  have  named  Matter  in  our  way  the  Separated 
of  the  physical  Universe,  while  Motion  is  the  Sep- 
arating, or  the  ever-dividing  principle  which  has 
no  stoppage  within  itself.  Such  designations  of 
them  are  intended  to  suggest  their  origin  from  the 
universal  Self,  whereof  all  Nature  is  but  one  form, 
or  manifestation,  or  more  strictly  the  manifesta- 
tion. 

Nothing  would  seem  to  be  more  difficult  than  to 
define  Matter;  nothing  is  easier  than  to  point  it 
out.  It  is  everywhere  around  us,  inviting,  yea  as- 
sailing all  our  senses;  obnoxious  to  our  eyesight,  it 


88  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

IS  elusive  to  our  mind.  Those  who  have  most  to 
do  with  investigating  its  secrets  are  usually  the 
first  to  proclaim  that  they  do  not  know  what  it  is. 
Matter  as  a  category  has  been  known  since  the 
beginning  of  thought,  especially  since  the  old  Greeks ; 
still  it  is  deemed  quite  indefinable,  if  not  unknow- 
able. This  fact  again  brings  up  that  peculiar  sub- 
tlety ,  or  even  duplicity  of  Nature :  what  of  hers  seems 
most  open  is  most  recondite ;  her  most  obtrusive  re- 
ality, which  is  doubtless  Matter,  turns  out  as  having 
something  in  it  impalpably  ideal  and  speculative. 
One  result  is  that  several  of  the  greatest  philoso- 
phers have  denied  the  reality  of  the  material 
world.  The  existence  of  Matter  has  been  ques- 
tioned, as  has  the  existence  of  Motion,  both  being 
so  dualistic  and  contradictory.  But  Nature  just 
through  her  deepest  separation  drives  the  mind 
back  to  the  One-and-All  whence  she  sprang,  bear- 
ing as  her  first-born  those  characteristic  twins, 
Motion  and  Matter. 

We  have,  therefore,  to  grasp  Matter  in  its  primal 
conception  as  a  stage  of  the  elemental  Cosmos. 
This  docs  not  mean  that  Matter  is  merely  subject- 
ive, merely  in  my  mind.  Rather  is  it  the  Cosmos 
which  is  now  thinking,  if  we  may  dare  the  analogy 
— thinking  purely  its  original  speculative  forms  of 
which  Matter  is  one,  not  now  its  finite  phe- 
nomenal forms,  which  we  shall  see  emerge  later. 
To  be  sure  Nature  is  not  a  Self,  rather  is  it 
the  Unself  of  the  universal  Ego,  whose  opposite  it 


TEE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— MATTER.        89 

is,  even  if  a  necessary  part  of  tlie  total  process 
thereof.  Nature  cannot  perform  the  self-conscious 
act,  though  she  puts  her  impress  everywhere  upon 
the  shapes  which  she  evolves  in  her  long  march 
from  her  origin  to  her  goal.  Again  we  may  repeat, 
in  our  technical  speech,  that  Nature  unfolds  be- 
tween the  Pampsychosis  and  the  Psychosis,  be- 
tween the  universal  Ego  and  the  human  Ego,  and 
builds  herself  psychically,  in  accord  with  her  cre- 
ative source. 

Undoubtedly  the  thinker  has  to  re-think  the 
Cosmos  thinking,  to  reconstruct  Nature  construct- 
ing, to  make  anew  for  himself  psychically, 
what  has  been  made  pampsychically.  If  I  can, 
I  am  in  the  present  case  to  penetrate  to  the 
generative  cosmical  Soul  of  Matter,  and  formulate 
its  process  in  this  its  speculative  sphere,  which  will 
be  seen  running  through  and  shaping  all  the  order 
which  follows.  In  this  elemental  Cosmos  we  catch 
the  first  cosmical  principles;  we  are  to  see  the 
Cosmos  thinking  itself  in  its  own  primal  categories, 
which  we  are  to  think  after  it  and  to  formulate  in 
our  own  linguistic  way.  Properly  we  are  re-think- 
ing Nature's  thought  and  expressing  it  in  impene- 
trability, gravity,  inertia;  these  are  really  her 
utterances  of  herself,  not  simply  mine;  I  am  only 
trying  to  re-state  in  my  dialect  what  she  has  told 
me  in  her  dialect. 

The  opposition  Ix^tween  Motion  and  Matter  is 
the  thread  on  which   are  strung  all   the  forms  of 


90  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Nature's  evolution.  Motion,  the  separating,  tries 
to  get  fully  inside  of  Matter,  the  separated,  and  to 
make  it  self-separating  and  self-returning,  which 
would  be  the  Ego.  In  the  revolution  of  the  Earth 
around  the  Sun  we  reach  the  supreme  cosmical- 
fact :  Motion  has  gotten  control  of  a  material  body 
from  the  outside,  and  is  continually  bringing  it 
back  to  its  starting-point  while  driving  it  forward. 
Thus  Motion  shows  its  deepest  character  to  be 
cyclical  and  whirls  matter  along  in  its  circuit 
never-ending.  This  control  Matter  in  its  way 
resists,  though  it  too  strives  to  get  back  to  its 
source,  as  we  see  in  gravity.  For  Matter  is  heavy 
and  pushes  for  something  beyond  itself,  appetent 
for  aught  which  it  is  not.  It  tries  to  move  of  itself, 
though  resisting  Motion  from  the  outside.  Matter, 
therefore,  manifests  the  original  separation  from  the 
All-Ego,  and  even  strives  to  return  to  the  creative, 
primordial  fountain  of  its  being.  Matter  as  heavy 
reveals  its  supreme  estrangement,  and  is  cease- 
lessly craving,  is  hungry  for  restoration.  We 
often  say  of  this  piece  of  Matter  before  us  that  it 
seeks  the  center  of  the  Earth ;  but  if  it  really  got 
there  as  material,  it  would  still  plunge  with  the 
Earth  toward  the  new  center  in  the  Sun,  which  is 
itself  seemingly  on  the  way  toward  the  center  of 
the  total  Cosmos.  And  even  the  Cosmos  is  striv- 
ing somehow  to  return  like  this  lump  of  mud.  Re- 
turn to  what?  We  may  note  here  that  physical 
Science  does  not  attempt  to  answer  this   question, 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  —  MATTER.        91 

deeming  the  same  outside  of  its  sphere.     And  yet 
this  is  ultimately  the  main  point  at  issue. 

It  can  be  stated  that  Matter  will  stay  through 
the  whole  domain  of  Nature  with  its  appetency 
unappeased;  it  can  never  get  back  to  its  source 
except  through  Motion  Egoized — the  pure  act  of 
separation  overcoming  itself  in  an  inner  self-return. 
But  that  is  a  distant  outlook,  beyond  Matter  and 
beyond  Nature. 

And  now  we  shall  try  to  find  the  order  in  this 
abstract  speculative  Matter — elemental  we  call  it, 
and  it  belongs  to  the  Intellect  {Nous)  of  the  Cos- 
mos, rather  than  to  the  sensuous  manifestation 
thereof.  The  main  point  might  be  put  in  the 
question:  What  is  the  thought  of  Matter?  Not 
merely  what  do  I  think  it  to  be,  but  also  what 
does  it  think  itself  to  be.  Of  course  Matter  does 
not  think  self-consciously,  and  speak  as  I  do,  still 
it  thinks  and  speaks  in  its  own  way,  which  I  am 
to  interpret  if  I  can.  Accordingly  Matter  reveals 
itself  in  a  movement  which  can  be  expressed  as 
follows. 

(I) .     Its  immanent  character. 
(II).     Its  ciualitative  character. 

(III).     Its  ciuantitative  character. 

We  have  already  designated  Matter  as  the  Sepa- 
rated in  Nature,  not  indeed  as  moving  and  active, 
but  as  the  fixed  and  passive.  We  can  grasp  the 
thought  genetically  in  this  way :  Matter  separated 
from  the  All  is  separated    from  itself,  for  it  be- 


92  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

longs  to  the  All.  The  universe  must  have  separa- 
tion as  material  within  it  or  as  a  part  of  it,  else  it 
would  not  be  the  universe.  Matter  is,  therefore, 
always  extended  beyond  itself,  is  separated  from 
itself,  having  no  self-return.  Still  it  never  fails  to 
reveal  its  source  and  craves  to  get  back;  it  strains 
to  become  one  with  its  origin,  and  even  with  itself 
as  Matter.  These  traits  we  are  now  to  precipitate 
into  the  categories  of  Natural  Science. 

These  categories  of  Matter,  or  at  least  some  of 
them,  have  been  questioned  in  recent  science.  It 
is  claimed  that  Matter  not  only  changes  its  form, 
but  disintegrates  and  actually  grows  old  and  dies. 
We  read  of  the  dematerialization  of  Matter.  Still 
the  old  conceptions  hold  their  place  in  the  Cosmos, 
though  they  are  being  shaken  up  in  the  Diacos- 
mos.  That  is,  while  allowed  in  one  sphere  of  Sci- 
ence, their  place  is  challenged  in  another  different 
sphere.     But  of  this  more  is  to  come. 

I.  The  Immanent  Character  of  Matter. 
Under  this  head  we  seek  to  give  the  primary  funda- 
mental characteristics  of  cosmical  Matter.  There 
are  other  characteristics,  but  they  are  not  so  com- 
pelling and  innate,  though  they  belong.  I  would 
set  down  that  Matter  is  heavy  as  the  essential  prop- 
erty of  it,  its  very  soul  manifesting  its  inborn  charac- 
ter. Still  this  one  characteristic  stands  not  by  itself, 
but  suggest  a  process,  which  makes  it  explicit.  This 
first  process  of  Matter  we  can  indicate  in  terms  which 
have  been  already  employed  by  physical  science. 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER.        93 

1.  Gravity.  Matter  has  Gravity,  which  is  its 
ultimate  determining  principle.  Hence  we  put 
this  down  first,  as  the  all-inclusive,  though  as  yet 
undeveloped  characteristic  of  this  Matter,  not 
simply  a  property  but  the  property  of  it,  that 
which  makes  it  what  it  is.  In  it  hes  the  potenti- 
ality of  material  forces,  their  reservoir  which  hj 
soon  to  bo  tapped.  I  throw  a  ball  up  into  the 
air,  it  falls  of  itself  by  Gravity,  it  is  so  much 
Gravity  priniordially  as  matter,  w^hatever  other 
qualities  it  may  have.  If  we  ask  why  it  descends 
to  the  Earth,  the  answer  is,  through  Gravity. 
But  whence  and  what  is  Gravity?  Surely  it  can- 
not be  an  isolated  thing  in  the  Universe. 

It  is  to  be  observed  in  the  first  place  that  Mat- 
ter craves  to  unite  with  the  Earth,  with  the  Sun,  with 
all  Matter,  that  is  with  itself,  from  which  it  is 
separated.  This  stress  for  unity  finds  its  expres- 
sion in  Gravity.  Nature  is  the  heavy  Universe, 
subject  to  Gravity,  which  means  that  every  mate- 
rial body,  yea  every  material  particle  seeks  to  get 
to  the  center  and  thereby  to  become  self-centered. 
In  this  sense  Gravity  is  said  to  cause  Motion, 
though  in  the  deeper  primitive  sense  Motion 
causes  it.  Moreover  the  presupposition  of  Grav- 
ity is  the  antecedent  separation  of  Matter,  its 
estrangement  from  the  self-c(»ntercd  Universe  with 
which  it  eternally  craves  to  be  again  united. 

It  is  next  to  be  observed  that  every  cohesive 
body  and  every  separated  particle  of  Matter  has 


94  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

its  own  center  known  as  center  of  Gravity,  being 
endowed  itself  with  the  self-centering  impulse. 
Moreover  this  center  is  a  point,  is  merely  posited 
as  ideal  or  non-material,  in  strong  contrast  to  its 
real  extended  Matter,  whose  dualism  is  thus  man- 
ifested— its  real  outwardness  spatially  and  its 
ideal  inwardness  in  a  center.  Significant  is  the 
fact  that  if  we  divide  Matter,  each  particle  posits 
its  own  ideal  center  as  if  working  after  the  pat- 
tern of  the  whole  material  Universe.  Center  of 
Gravity  is  this  and  belongs  to  every  material 
body  however  minute,  as  well  as  to  the  great 
totality  of  Matter.  Hence  every  piece  of  Matter 
has  two  extreme  centers  of  Gravity,  its  own  and 
that  of  the  Cosmos,  both  of  them  unextended 
points  of  extension.  Then  it  may  have  other 
intermediate  centers. 

Finally  it  may  be  remarked  that  if  Matter  man- 
ifests its  desire  for  unity  in  Gravity,  this  desire 
remains  without  fulfillment.  If  it  were  fulfilled, 
that  would  be  the  end  of  Matter,  for  it  would  lose 
its  soul  which  is  Gravity.  Separation  of  Matter 
has  gone  before  Gravity  and  conditions  it;  there 
could  be  no  craving  for  unity  without  the  previous 
division.  Unless  Matter  were  repellent,  and  in- 
deed repellent  of  itself,  there  could  be  no  ground 
of  its  assertion  of  unity  through  Gravity.  So  we 
reach  a  new  characteristic  immanent  in  Matter^ 
Repulsion.  We  can  conceive  the  physical  uni- 
verse with  its  one  center  of  Gravity  divided  in 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER.       95 

innumerable  centers  of  Gravity,  down  to  the  atom, 
each  of  which  asserts  itself,  and  so  repels  all 
the  rest. 

2.  Repulsion.  Matter  has  Repulsion  which  has 
been  already  indicated  as  the  presupposition  of 
Gravity.  A  body  would  not  be  heavy  unless  it 
were  separated  or  repelled  from  the  Earth.  But 
the  Earth  also  is  Matter  which  is  thus  the  self- 
repelled  ere  it  can  seek  its  unity  by  Gravity.  Re- 
pulsion is  immanent  in  Matter  as  extended. 

On  the  other  hand  Repulsion  follows  Gravity 
as  a  result.  Each  particle  of  Matter  has  its  own 
separate  center  of  Gravity,  its  own  individuality 
we  may  call  it,  which  it  must  assert  in  order  to  be. 
From  this  point  of  view  Matter  is  seen  to  be  infi- 
nitely self -repellent ;  the  whole  Cosmos  becomes 
the  arena  of  material  Repulsion.  The  ball  indeed 
descends  to  the  Earth,  but  is  met  at  the  limit  and 
is  repelled;  neither  can  penetrate  the  other,  or 
reach  the  other's  center.  So  material  objects, 
after  seeking  their  unity  through  Gravity,  and 
perchance  flying  toward  each  other  in  a  common 
desire,  reject  one  another  with  a  kind  of  aversion. 
It  was  probably  this  aspect  of  things  which  induced 
the  old  Greek  philosopher  Empedocles  to  say  that 
the  Cosmos  was  the  scene  of  an  eternal  war  be- 
tween Love  and  Hate.  In  the  Solar  System  the 
planet  seeks  the  center  of  the  central  body,  being 
turned  to  it  when  farthest  from  it,  and  repelled 
when  nearest  to  it.     In  the  Heavens  where  Matter 


96  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

moves  free,  without  being  stopped,  it  shows  most 
plainly  its  dual  character  as  center-seeking  or  self- 
seeking,  and  center-fleeing  or  self -repellent. 

In  the  Cosmos  as  such,  Repulsion  works  directly 
upon  the  cohesive  body  as  entire,  even  if  small, 
and  moves  it  from  the  outside.  But  in  the  Dia- 
cosmos,  or  second  grand  sphere  of  Nature,  Repul- 
sion gets  inside  the  body  and  tears  its  molecules 
asunder,  especially  through  Heat,  transforming  the 
body  and'  changing  its  character.  And  in  Elec- 
tricity will  be  found  a  more  striking  manifes- 
tation of  the  same  fact. 

All  Nature  has  been  called  dialectical  and 
naively  self -contradictory ;  it  cannot  help  denying 
itself,  or  repelling  itself,  we  may  say  in  this  con- 
nection. Matter  as  separative  thrusts  itself  from 
itself  and  therein  is  Repulsion.  It  is  negative  to 
itself  as  unity,  and  thus  manifests  a  phase  of  self- 
negation,  which  indeed  runs  through  all  Nature  as 
separated  from  the  universal  Self.  The  Ego  too 
we  may  consider  self-repellent,  but  it  returns  to 
itself  out  of  Repulsion.  If  it  had  to  stay  there,  it 
would  be  Matter. 

Material  bodies,  excluding  and  repelling  one 
another,  manifest  again  a  common  principle,  have 
indeed  in  their  mutual  exclusion  found  a  new  unity. 
In  their  very  Repulsion  they  are  held  together  by 
a  universal  law,  and  form  a  system  of  repellent 
bodies.  The  whole  Cosmos  becomes  such  a  sys- 
tem.    Repulsion  as   universal  woyld  destroy  itself 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER.        97 

by  completely  repelling  itself  and  so  getting  rid  of 
itself.  Matter,  therefore,  through  Repulsion  un- 
folds into  Attraction,  a  new  sort  of  Gravity  with 
a  new  desire  for  unity. 

3.  Attraction,  {Gravitatio7i).  The  law  of  the  At- 
traction of  Matter  is  usually  deemed  the  greatest 
triumph  of  the  Science  of  Nature.  It  is  em- 
phatically universal,  holding  true  of  the  tiny 
particle  before  us  as  well  of  the  remotest 
star.  Already  in  Gravity  Matter  manifested  At- 
traction, but  this  was  not  known  to  be  universal, 
nor  was  it  reduced  to  law  except  in  portions.  So 
a  new  word  is  added:  Gravitation.  The  Attrac- 
tion of  Matter  through  Gravity  pertains  to  the 
first  implicit  stage  before-mentioned;  the  Attrac- 
tion of  Matter  through  Gravitation  is  this  third 
explicit,  legalized,  universalized  stage.  The  first 
has  .'ong  been  known  and  variously  employed ;  the 
third  is  quite  a  recent  acquisition  of  knowledge, 
and  is  coupled  with  the  name  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton. 
This  law  of  Gravitation  may  be  put  together  as 
follows : 

All  material  bodies  are  mutually  attracted,  and  so 
tend  to  move  toward  one  another.  They  vary  directly 
according  to  their  masses,  hut  inversely  according  to 
the   square  of  their  distances  from  one  another. 

The  law  which  reigns  over  and  organizes  the 
system  of  cosmical  Matter  is  now  formulated. 
Through  it  the  Cosmos  is  getting  ordered  more 
and  more  with  the  years.    The  schoolboy  learns  it 


98  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

and  applies  it  too;  it  has  become  a  part  of  the  con- 
sciousness of  civilization.  Thus  stolid  Matter,  the 
repellent  and  self-repellent,  has  an  obedience,  and 
is  drawn  to  the  unity  of  Attraction  even  through 
Repulsion.  It  furnishes  the  most  impressive  and 
enduring  object-lesson  in  the  universality  of  law. 

It  may  be  here  stated  that  there  were  two  his- 
toric antecedents  which  unfolded  into  Newton's 
law  of  Gravitation.  Galileo  had  already  formu- 
lated the  law  of  falling  bodies  on  the  Earth's  sur- 
face, or  the  law  of  terrestrial  Gravitation.  Soon 
the  question  came  up:  does  this  law  apply  to 
celestial  bodies  also?  The  other  historic  antecedent 
of  the  law  of  Gravitation  was  the  third  law  of 
Kepler  (the  square  of  the  period  of  each  planet 
is  proportional  to  the  cube  of  its  mean  distance 
from  the  Sun)  which  suggested  to  Newton  and  to 
other  contemporary  scientists,  that  the  attraction 
between  the  earth  and  other  planets  might  vary 
inversely  as  the  square  of  their  distances.  But 
Newton  first  proved  mathematically  the  truth  of 
this  supposition. 

But  before  the  law  of  Gravitation  could  be 
proved  Newton  had  to  establish  another  very  im- 
portant principle.  This  was  that  the  Earth's  at- 
traction is  not  on  its  surface  or  distributed  through 
its  parts  equally,  but  is  concentrated  in  the  center. 
So  there  is  a  center  of  Gravitation  as  well  as  a 
center  of  Gravity;  the  cosmical  bodies,  however 
large,  have  their  attraction  unified   in  a   central 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER.       99 

point.  It  is  this  ideal  point  of  unity  which  draws 
all  Matter  and  is  drawn  by  it,  in  the  physical  uni- 
verse. And  this  physical  universe  seemingly  has 
its  ideal  center,  attracting  poss^ibly  our  whole  solar 
system  centered  in  the  Sun,  which  is  declared  to 
be  sweeping  with  its  planetary  retinue  toward  the 
star  Vega  in  the  constellation  of  the  Lyre. 

Attraction  and  Rei)ulsion  are  often  called  forces 
which  determine  Matter;  but  Matter  really  deter- 
mines them.  Nor  are  they  to  be  regarded  as  inde- 
pendent forces  dropping  down  from  the  outside, 
but  they  must  be  joined  in  a  process  together. 
Kant  is  said  to  have  construed  Matter  out  of  At- 
traction and  Repulsion :  the  better  way  is  to  con- 
strue Attraction  and  Repulsion  out  of  Matter, 
which  is  their  antecedent  and  is  derived  from  a 
higher  source.  With  Gravitation  is  also  connected 
the  troublesome  problem  of  actio  in  distans,  or,  as 
it  is  usually  stated,  of  a  material  body  acting 
where  it  is  not.  Such  action  evidently  runs 
counter  to  the  mechanical  view  of  the  Cosmos. 

Looking  l)ack  at  the  immanent  process  of  Mat- 
ter with  its  three  categories,  we  can  observe  that 
the  Cosmos  is  through  Gravity  a  scheme  of  At- 
traction, all  parts  for  each;  3'ct  it  is  also  a  scheme 
of  Repulsion,  or  the  mutual  aversion  of  these 
parts,  each  against  all:  then  finally  it  is  a  system  of 
Gravitation,  in  which  ]le])ulsion  is  overcome  into 
Attraction.  Li  their  way  these  three  categories 
reflect  the   three  divisions  of  the  Cosmos  as  con- 


100  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

ceived  in  this  book — that  of  elemental  unity,  that 
of  particularized  separation,  and  that  of  the  sys- 
temic return  to  unity  (seen  in  the  Solar  System) . 
The  dialectical  thought  of  the  present  process  is 
manifested  especially  in  Repulsion,  which,  to  be 
true  to  itself,  must  repel  itself  and  thus  undo  itself, 
threby  returning  to  unity  in  Attraction. 

We  should  here  add  that  wcnght  or  ponderability 
has  not  been  considered  by  many  thinkers  and  scien- 
tists a  necessary  and  essential  property  of  all  Matter. 
Ne^vton  writes  in  the  second  edition  of  his  Optics: 
"To  prove  that  I  have  not  considered  weight  as  a 
universal  property  of  bodies,  I  have"  etc. — this 
would  seem  to  mean  that  he  questions  the  imma- 
nency of  Gravity  in  material  bodies.  It  was  the 
actio  in  distans  which  troubled  him,  and  which  also 
drove  Descartes  to  conjecture  his  subtle  mediating 
fluid  throughout  the  Cosmos.  StilL  Gravitation 
remains  in  all  its  force  with  its  law,  however  its 
action  may  be  accounted  for. 

Another  claim  of  a  recent  scientist  should  be 
noticed:  the  separation  between  the  ponderable 
and  the  imponderable  has  been  made  to  disappear 
through  the  dematerialization  of  Matter,  which 
can  be  visibly  transformed  into  energy,  or,  as  we 
conceive  the  fact,  can  be  brought  to  exchange  its 
cosmical  for  a  diacosmical  force — exchange  Gravity 
for  Electricity,  to  give  an  instance.  The  negative 
trend  of  to-day's  physical  science  is  thus  character- 
ized by  one  of  its   eminent  devotees:     "A  certain 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— MATTER.      101 

anarchy  reigns  in  the  domain  of  the  natural  sci- 
ences, no  law  appears  rigidly  necessary,"  not  even 
the  law  of  Gravitation.  "The  very  principles  of 
Mechanics  are  contested  and  recent  facts  shake  our 
faith  in  the  laws  hitherto  considered  fundamental"' 
(L.  Poincare).  So  along  with  the  pohtical,  the 
scientific  anarchist  has  arisen,  and  breaks  with  the 
estabhshed  laws  of  Nature.  And  we  hear  the  ex- 
ultation: ''Nothing  is  more  favorable  to  progress 
than  this  anarchy"  (Le  Bon).  These  protests  are 
at  least  to  be  recorded,  as  they  indicate,  even  if 
negatively,  the  birth  of  a  new  sphere  of  Natural 
Science,  of  which  a  full  account  is  to  be  taken 
later.  The  breach  with  Mechanics,  or  with  the 
cosmical  laws  of  Matter,  is  indeed  significant, 
though  such  an  assault  cannot  well  succeed.  Fail- 
ure is  pretty  certain  to  bring  the  assailants  out  of 
their  negative  attitude  into  their  positive  field, 
which  awaits  them.  In  other  words  the  true  place 
for  their  world  is  not  the  Cosmos  but  the  Diacos- 
mos,  whereof  the  exi)osition  comes  later.  At  pres- 
ent, then,  W(!  shall  pass  to  considering  another  set 
of  the  transmitted  categories  of  Matter. 

II.  The  Qualitative  Character  of  Matter. 
We  seek  to  make  a  distinction  between  the  imma- 
nent character  of  Matter  and  its  qualitative  char- 
acter. Both  are  manifested  in  the  so-called  prop- 
erties of  Matter,  which  are  usually  recounted  in 
the  text-books  one  after  the  other  with  little  or  no 
connection  or  order.     Attraction,  Repulsion,  and 


102  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Gravity  are  called  properties  of  Matter,  but  they 
are  immanent,  and  constitute  IMatter  itself.  On 
the  other  hand.  IMatter  has  certain  derivative 
properties,  which  belong  more  to  its  manifestation, 
as  density  and  elasticity,  or  that  which  we  infer 
from  its  essence  through  reflection,  as  divisibility. 
Such  ))roperties  must  be  deemed  secondary  and 
relative  in  comparison  with  the  primary  ones 
already  given.  Even  the  indestructibihty  of  Mat- 
ter can  hardly  be  an  immanent  property  of  it  im- 
mediately present  to  our  senses  like  gravity;  rather 
is  it  an  inference  of  our  reflection. 

There  are  many  properties  of  matter;  these  con- 
stitute indeed  the  sphere  of  its  multiplicity.  There 
is  an  indefinite  play  of  them  out  of  Matter,  which 
the  Mind  names — ductihty,  malleability,  Hquidity, 
density,  etc.  All  these  we  shall  not  attempt  to 
list  and  order  at  the  start,  but  take  them  as  they 
arise  in  the  course  of  the  exposition.  But  there 
are  three  central  ones  which  belong  together  in  a 
process,  and  which  may  be  deemed  the  core  of  the 
others. 

1.  Impenetrability.  That  Matter  as  such  can 
not  be  penetrated  has  long  been  an  axiom  of  Me- 
chanics. It  offers  resistance,  it  asserts  itself,  it 
affirms  its  being  against  intruders  and  assailants. 
Or  one  piece  of  Matter  excludes  any  other;  the  two 
cannot  occupy  the   same  space  at  the   same  time. 

Still  the  nail  penetrates  the  piece  of  wood  by  a  dis- 
placement of  particles;  the  sunbeam  penetrates  the 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER.     103 

transparent  window-pane,  the  X-ray  penetrates 
the  untransparent  human  body.  So  there  is  a 
kind  of  penetrabihty  of  Matter.  But  in  the  last 
resort  the  atom  alone  is  said  to  be  impenetrable, 
and  again  there  is  the  refuge  in  an  idea  which  is 
not  ideal  but  material.  On  the  other  hand  Matter 
as  a  stage  of  the  universal  self  cannot  be  pene- 
trated or  assailed  with  success,  being  verily  an 
integral  part  of  the  process  of  the  All. 

Logically  penetrability  contradicts  the  nature  of 
Matter  as  external.  Matter  cannot  penetrate 
Matter  and  be  inside  of  it,  for  it  is  just  the  outside 
of  itself  as  space-occupying  or  extended.  If  the 
outside  becomes  inside,  it  contradicts  itself,  since 
Matter  thus  is  non-material.  Properly  then  if 
Matter  penetrates  Matter,  it  still  remains  outside 
of  itself  in  such  penetration,  it  can  only  push  itself 
aside  or  outside.  Its  separation  cannot  be  reached ; 
that  is.  Matter  must  remain  the  Separated,  if  it 
remains  itself.  So  Matter  is  impenetrable  by  Mat- 
ter in  the  sense  of  undoing  its  separation,  but  in 
the  sense  of  separating  it  simply  Matter  is  su- 
premely penetrable,  or  divisible,  by  Matter.  This 
is  also  asserted  as  a  quality  of  Matter  in  the  fol- 
lowing. 

2.  Divisibility.  This  may  be  deemed  a  property 
opposite  to  the  foregoing  impenetrability,  since  to 
penetrate  Matter  means  to  divide  it.  Thus  Mat- 
ter, true  to  its  dualistic  character,  is  endowed  with 
two  contradictory   qualities.     The  grain  of  musk, 


104  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

scenting  a  room  for  years  without  apparent  dim- 
inution, shows  an  enormous  divisibility  of  a  small 
bit  of  Matter,  as  a  thing  of  sensuous  experience. 
That  musk  is  not  only  divisible,  but  seems  self- 
divisible  and  indeed  self-repellent,  to  one  of  the 
senses. 

And  yet  divisibility  is  supposed  to  run  upon  its 
limit  in  the  atom,  which  is  usually,  though  not 
always,  declared  to  be  indivisible.  An  idea,  or 
something  beyond  the  senses,  yet  material,  is 
once  more  the  landing  place  of  Matter,  now  as  di- 
visible, which,  however,  has  negated  itself,  has 
divided  itself  to  indivisibility,  and  persists  in  being 
dual  and  self-opposed. 

3.  Indestructibility.  If  Matter  were  absolutely 
divisible,  unable  to  resist  division  at  the  last  stand, 
it  might  well  Ijc  deemed  destructible.  The  atom 
in  some  shape  offers  the  final  resistance  to  the 
negative  might  of  separation.  So  we  have  another 
quality  of  Matter,  indestructibihty,  which  as  a 
word,  suggests  the  negation  of  destruction.  Mat- 
ter, then,  has  the  power  of  overcoming  its  own  de- 
stroying energy.  Something  of  the  same  sort  was 
hinted  in  impenetrability. 

Matter  changes  form  in  numberless  ways,  but 
underneath  all  these  changes  it  persists,  both  in 
quantity  and  cjuality.  If  it  be  indestructible,  it 
cannot  be  increased  or  diminished  in  the  Universe. 
The  Solar  System  may  be  losing  Matter,  as  it  is 
said  to  be  losing  Motion  and  Energy.   But  the  loss 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— MATTER.      105 

in  one  place  of  the  Cosmos  is  the  gain  in  another. 
The  amount  of  Matter  is  conceived  to  remain  the 
same;  sometimes  it  is  said  to  have  been  created  by 
fiat  all  at  once  and  once  for  all.  But  really  it  is  a 
stage  of  the  universal  Ego  itself,  not  a  demiurgic 
creation  thereof  from  the  outside.  Matter  with 
Motion  is  a  necessary  })art  of  the  process  of  the 
All-Self,  which  could  not  be  without  it.  Hence  it 
is  the  same  whether  regarded  quantitatively  or 
qualitatively.  As  a  whole  it  must  be  of  the  same 
amount  and  of  the  same  character.  It  is  the  Sep- 
arated in  Nature  which  is  still  the  second  act  or 
stage  in  the  process  of  the  Pampsychosis.  Hence 
we  may  say  that  Matter  as  well  as  Motion  is  inde- 
structible, is  as  persistent  and  as  necessary  to  the 
Universe  as  is  Nature  herself.  For  the  All  cannot 
be  destroyed,    else  it  were  not  the  All. 

Matter,  therefore,  is  not  destructible,  it  never 
has  been  and  never  will  be  destroyed.  No  j^article 
of  it  has  perished  since  llie  beginning,  any  more 
than  God  has  })erished.  The  amount  is  the  same, 
though  probably  variable  in  spots;  it  may  become 
more  or  less  in  different  parts  of  the  Cosmos. 
Hence  the  conception  of  its  (juantity  rises  to  the 
surface,  as  distinct  from  its  quahty.  Next  this 
phase  of  its  character  is  to  be  considered — the 
quantitative. 

We  should  add  that  these  qualitative  categories 
of  Matter  have  not  escaped  criticism  in  recent 
science^  which  is  making  many  an  assault  upon  the 


lOG  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

older  scientific  structure  Their  inner  dualism 
has  been  set  forth,  often  with  a  negative  conclu- 
sion which  does  not  necessarily  follow.  Especially 
the  indestructibihty  of  Matter  has  been  questioned 
with  no  little  intensity.  Again  we  may  repeat 
that  this  opposition  springs  from  the  Diacosmos 
and  its  scientific  training,  and  must  be  considered 
in  that  sphere. 

III.  The  Quantitative  Character  of  Mat- 
ter. The  conception  of  Quantity  as  pure  or  ab- 
stract has  been  already  unfolded  from  Motion.  In 
fact  all  the  elements  of  Motion — Space,  Time,  as 
well  as  Quantity  proper — show  a  quantitative 
character.  They  are  not  only  measurable  in  them- 
selves, but  the  primal  condition  of  all  measure- 
ment. Bodies  are,  first  and  foremost,  in  Space 
and  Time,  which  must  be  conceived  as  existent 
before  being  filled  with  bodies. 

Matter  has,  accordingly,  a  quantitative  char- 
acter; it  is  the  Separated,  and  so  it  brings  up  the 
question,  How  much  is  it  separated  (Quantitas, 
How-muchness) . 

Evidently  in  the  present  stage  of  Matter — the 
quantitative — we  are  turned  back  upon  Motion 
with  its  three  elemental  forms,  Space,  Time,  Quan- 
tity. These  are  now  reahzed  {res,  a  thing),  or  we 
may  say,  materialized,  being  in  pure  Motion  im- 
material. On  the  other  hand  Matter  as  the  Sepa- 
rated shares  in  these  same  forms  and  thus  shares 
in  Motion,   as  every   law  of   moving  Matter  indi- 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER.      107 

cates.  Accordingly  in  the  quantitative  character 
of  Matter  we  shall  find  the  three  stages,  Matter  as 
spatial,  as  temporal,  and  as  the  Quantum.  Con- 
cerning these  stages  a  word  or  two  may  be 
added. 

1.  Matter  quantifiable  (spatial).  It  has  been 
already  stated  that  Space  is  quantifiable,  so  also 
must  Matter  be,  according  to  its  genesis.  Matter 
occupies  Space,  and  gets  a  spatial  character;  it 
has  extension  with  the  potentiality  of  division. 
Matter,  however,  as  the  Separated  has  the  fixed 
dTawn  limit  in  Space,  which  limit  Space  itself  has 
not,  being  always  outside  of  itself  so  that  its  limit 
is  no  limit.  Thus  Space  offers  no  limit  to  Motion, 
while  Matter  does. 

The  quantitative  character  of  Matter  in  its  spa- 
tial aspect  is,  then,  its  ([uantifiability,  its  capacity 
of  being  quantified  and  measured.  Motion  is 
quantifiable  through  pure  Space;  Matter,  through 
occupying  Space,  becomes  quantifiable,  being  not 
yet  active  or  quantifying,  but  at  rest,  unmoved, 
with  the  possibility  of  Motion  which   now  begins. 

2.  Matter  quantifying  {temporal).  In  the  pro- 
cess of  Motion  Time  showed  itself  as  the  primal 
quantifying  principle,  dividing  all  continuity  into 
moments  of  succession.  Likewise  Matter,  sharing 
in  Motion,  is  made  temporal  and  quantifies.  That 
is,  moving  Matter  is  always  (luantifying  in  Time, 
is  getting  fully  measurable,  for  Time  is  an  element 
in  its  measurement. 


108  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Moreover  Matter,  being  in  Time,  is  aiways 
changing,  always  arising  and  vanishing.  The  tem- 
porahty  of  Matter  is  indicated  by  its  perpetual 
metamorphosis,  which,  as  is  usually  said,  takes 
place  in  Time.  Matter  as  spatial  is  the  fixed  and 
bounded,  but  this  bound  becomes  fluid  in  Time,  so 
that  Motion  at  once  starts  to  determine  Matter. 

So  we  are  to  see  that  Matter,  in  the  ceaseless 
change  of  Time,  is  quantifying  itself,  is  not  merely 
quantifiable  as  hi  Space.  The  process  of  quanti- 
fication is  at  work,  is  really  in  the  middle  stage, 
but  not  yet  complete. 

3.  Matter  quantified  [the  material  Quantum).  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  we  have  already  had  the 
universal  or  elemental  Quantum  as  a  phase  of  pure 
Quantity,  which  unfolds  also  its  unit  of  Measure  in 
the  most  general  sense  of  the  term.  But  now  we 
are  to  see  the  unit  of  Measure  made  specific,  real, 
embodied.  The  child,  spanning  with  its  little 
hand,  is  using  an  embodied  unit  of  Measure  or 
Quantum,  which,  however,  implies  an  instinctive 
idea  of  pure  Quantity. 

Matter  as  limited  is  always  a  Quantum.  A 
piece  of  coal  can  be  the  unit  of  measure  for  a  coal- 
mine, and  the  coal-mine  itself  is  a  unit  of  measure. 
All  Matter  is  composed  of  Quanta.  Man,  through 
convenience  or  instinct,  selects  one  of  these  as  his 
material  unit  of  Measure.  But  this  he  could  not 
do  unless  the  quantitative  idea  were  in  him,  harmo- 
nious with  that  of  Nature, 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER.      109 

Matter,  accordingly,  as  the  Separated,  gets  this 
its  final  quantitative  character  (the  material 
Quantum)  when  it  is  quantified  after  being  quan- 
tifiable in  Space  and  quantifying  in  Time.  Thus 
Matter  becomes  measurable,  which  it  is  not  simply 
as  spatial  or  as  temporal,  not  as  Space-occupying 
here  and  there,  or  as  Time-occupying  in  this  mo- 
ment and  that.  Matter  when  quantified  means 
that  its  standard  of  measure  has  unfolded.  This 
material  Body  occupies  not  only  Space  but  so 
much  Space  (so  many  cul>ic  inches,  say),  and  occu- 
pies not  only  Time,  but  so  much  Time  in  changing 
from  here  to  there  (say  so  many  minutes).  The 
Quantum  has  appeared  for  measuring  the  Quan- 
tity, which  is  thus  itself  quantified.  Great  is  the 
Quantum,  it  is  the  standard  or  unit  of  measure 
which  specifies  and  realizes  abstract  Quantity. 

Space  may  be  deemed  purely  'continuous  Quan- 
tity, Time  purely  discrete  Quantity;  neither  can 
be  measured  til)  the  Quantum  (the  modulus,  or 
determinate //otr-7??urA )  becomes  the  quantifier  of 
these  unquantified  Quantities  (quite  as  we  must 
have  the  good  deed  to  measure  abstract  goodness) . 
And  so  the  point  has  been  reached  that  Matter  has 
become  quantified  through  its  Quantum,  meas- 
urable though  itself  as  measurer. 

We  have  now  attained  the  conclusion  o*f  Mat- 
ter as  here  set  forth  in  its  three  leading  phases — 
immanent,  qualitative  and  quantitative.  If  we 
regard  the  immanent  phase  in  the  form  of  gravity 


110  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

or  repulsion  or  attraction,  we  find  that  they  all 
must  become  quantitative,  that  they  call  for  meas- 
urement. The  Quantum  thus  goes  back  to  them 
and  quantifies  them — which  rounds  out  the  pres- 
ent process  of  Matter.  Newton  measuring  Grav- 
itation with  his  Quantum  suggests  this  whole  pro- 
cess of  Matter. 

To  be  sure  these  categories  of  Matter  seem  not 
very  material,  yea  perhaps  not  very  intelligible  in 
their  subtle  implications.  We  have  indeed  to 
think  Matter,  or  rather  to  make  it  think  itself  in 
its  own  categories.  These  the  scientist  on  the 
whole  accepts  as  they  are;  often  he  is  averse  to 
dealing  with  them  purely ;  he  does  not  care  to  exam- 
ine his  mental  tools,  but  his  experimental  appa- 
ratus cannot  be  neglected.  Still  the  science  of 
Nature  must  get  back  to  all  its  pre-suppositions,  if 
possible;  especially  of  these  categories  it  must  seek 
the  order,  and  must  probe  down  to  their  ultimate 
psychical  import.  We  can  think  in  phenomena 
hke  Liebig,  but  we  cannot  stop  there;  we  have  at 
last  to  look  after  our  thought  thinking  in  phe- 
nomena. If  we  can  find  its  basic  process,  we  are 
getting  hold  of  the  last  control  of  phenomenal 
Nature. 

The  quantitative  character  of  Matter  has  com- 
pleted its  expression  in  the  material  Quantum, 
which  is  employed  as  the  measurer  of  Matter.  Evi- 
dently both  the  measured  and  the  measurer  are 
material.     The  next  step  is  that  both   drop  their 


THE  ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MATTER.      HI 

Matter  and  become  immaterial;  the  measurer 
measur,es  the  measured  purely  in  its  own  forms;  or 
the  Quantum  in  itself  quantifies  Quantity  in  itself, 
both  being  expressed  in  their  own  symbols  which 
are  now  called  mathematical.  Thus  we  see  Quan- 
tity getting  a  new  body  of  its  own,  adequate  and 
transparent  in  its  processes.  The  Quantum  now 
separates  from  its  previous  material  embodiment, 
and  turning  back  upon  itself  becomes  self-measur- 
ing, and  thus  universal,  for  it  can  now  measure 
itself  and  everything  else. 

This  sphere  we  call  Measure.  Quantity,  hitherto 
implicit  in  Matter  and  the  incorporate  soul  thereof, 
gets  explicit  in  its  own  right  and  unfolds  into  its 
own  forms  with  its  own  process.  To  the  eye  of 
thought  Matter  dematerializes  itself  through  its 
own  necessity  and  brings  forth  immaterial  Meas- 
ure. We  might  also  say  that  the  inner  principle 
of  Matter  throws  off  its  outer  encumbrance  and 
evolves  its  own  world  of  shapes,  which,  however, 
will  show  themselves  as  still  controlling  the  mate- 
rial world.  Matter  we  have  seen  to  be  inherently 
self-undoing, for  instance  through  gravity;  it  craves 
somehow  to  get  rid  of  itself,  to  separate  from  itself, 
being  just  the  separated  by  its  primal  birthright. 
But  when  Matter  has  succeeded  in  separating  from 
itself,  it  is  no  longer  Matter,  it  has  gotten  out  of 
itself  and  has  become  non-material,  a  disembodied 
ghost  of  itself.  These  dematerialized  shapes  of 
Matter,  the  souls  thereof  we   may  conceive  them, 


112  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

with  all  their  subtle  processes  are  organized  in  the 
science  of  Mathematics,  which  from  this  point  of 
view  can  be  seen  having  absolute  rule  over  Matter, 
as  soul  over  body.  This  function  may  be  summed 
up  as  universal  Measure,  which  term  we  shall 
employ  as  best  for  our  purpose. 

III. 

Measure. 

Some  difficulty  has  been  felt  in  getting  a  good 
title  for  this  third  stage  of  the  elemental  Cosmos, 
which  stage,  as  here  conceived,  is  correlative  with 
Motion  and  Matter.  We  have  before  us  Magni- 
tude, but  it  is  Magnitude  not  as  real  or  material, 
which  would  properly  belong  to  Matter.  It  is 
Magnitude  measured,  or  rather  made  to  measure 
itself,  in  its  own  forms  or  symbols,  which  are 
mathematical,  as  we  see  when  numbers  are  applied 
to  themselves,  for  instance  in  multiplication.  Five 
times  four  is  one  pure  Magnitude  measuring  off 
another.  The  algebraic  formula  a  +  6  is  the  unity 
of  any  two  Magnitudes  measured  and  expressed, 
yet  is  itself  a  Magnitude..  Now  this  Magnitude, 
measuring  itself  or  at  least  measured  by  itself  in 
its  own  pure  forms,  we  shall  call  Measure. 

The  standard  or  unit  of  Measure  as  real  we  have 
already  noticed  under  Matter.  The  hand  or  foot 
is  such  a  real  unit  of  Measure  which  is  applied  to 
a  real  object.    But    measurement    as    universal 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MEASURE.         113 

must  at  last  be  brought  to  measure  itself.  If  it 
measures  all  things  it  must  not  fail  to  include 
itself  in  the  universal  mcasiu'ement.  What  we  call 
Measure  in  the  present  ease  has  just  this  peculi- 
arity: it  becomes  self-measuring,  it  is  forever 
turning  back  upon  itself  with  its  measurements. 
When  I  say:  one  half  of  four  is  two,  I  am  meas- 
uring one  measurement  by  another  and  stating  the 
resultant  measurement  (there  are  four  halves  in 
two  wholes).  As  we  shall  see  later,  this  is  speci- 
ally the  field  of  pure  Mathematics,  which  is  Meas- 
ure, or  Magnitude  measuring  itself  in  its  own 
terms. 

It  is  true  that  the  word  Quantity  is  often  used  for 
the  preceding  word  Measure.  In  that  case  we  would 
have  to  say  that  Quantity  now  quantifies  itself, 
makes  itself  its  own  content — which  it  does  in  the 
mathematical  disciplines.  Quantity  as  two  num- 
bers being  given,  they  are  still  quantified  by  being 
added,  subtracted,  multiplied,  divided.  That  is, 
Quantity  is  always  turning  back  upon  itself  and 
quantifying  itself  anew,  such  is  just  its  process. 
But  we  have  already  used  the  word  Quantity  in  a 
different  and  more  fundamental  relation:  as  the 
third  constituent  fact  of  Motion  along  with  Space 
and  Time. 

Perhaps  it  will  avoid  confusion  if  we  set  down 
in  order  the  three  quantitative  phases  which  have 
alr(>ady  appeared  in  the  present  exposition.  (1) 
Motion,  we  may  recall,  is  the  Separating  of  Nature, 


114  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

and  involves  the  conception  of  pure  Quantity. 
That  is,  there  arises  with  Motion  the  thought  of 
the  How-miich,  or  of  the  extent  of  this  separation. 
Such  is  the  primordial  idea  of  Quantity,  which 
must  exist  before  there  can  be  any  measurement. 
Nature  must  indeed  be  measurable,  must  have  in 
it  Quantity  ere  it  is  measured.  (2)  In  Matter  (as 
well  as  Motion)  we  find  Quantity,  but  with  certain 
new  properties.  Here  we  come  upon  a  real  or 
material  unit  of  Measure  as  Quantum,  which  is 
applied  to  other  material  objects.  An  illustration 
is  a  yardstick  measuring  a  piece  of  cloth.  (3)  But 
now  this  yardstick  must  be  taken  free  of  its  ma- 
terial substrate  and  made  universal ;  such  is  the 
pure  unit  of  Measure,  or  rather  Measure  itself  in 
the  sense  here  used,  which  through  its  arithmet- 
ical numbers,  algebraic  symbols,  and  geometric 
figures  has  in  it  the  principle  of  self-measurement. 
Again  we  may  use  an  illustration  from  Geom- 
etry. When  I  enclose  a  triangle  in  Space,  I  limit 
the  same,  quantify  it,  reduce  it  to  a  Quantum. 
But  I  do  not  yet  measure  it.  When,  however, 
I  find  the  sum  of  the  three  angles  to  be  two  right 
angles,  then  I  have  measured  it,  I  have  quantified 
its  original  simple  Quantity.  It  is  no  longer  a 
mere  Quantum  embracing  so  much  Space.  Still 
further,  this  measured  triangle  is  not  merely 
measured  and  equated,  but  becomes  itself  a  meas- 
urer, or  a  principle  of  measurement,  measuring 
even  the  area  of  the  circle. 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  —  MEASURE.  1 15 

Accordingly  we  consider  Measure  to  be  tlie  tliird 
stage  -of  the  elemental  Cosmos,  of  which  it  is  an 
inherent  necessary  constituent.  The  Cosmos  is 
always  measuring.  When  it  is  said  that  light 
moves  through  193,000  miles  in  a  second,  over  so 
much  Space  in  so  much  Time,  this  is  a  cosmical  act 
of  measurement,  which  remains  the  same.  There  is 
no  change  in  the  rate  when  the  ray  has  traveled 
from  a  distant  star;  its  stop  is  just  so  long  and  no 
long(M-,  measured  to  the  unit  of  Time.  Man  un- 
doubtedly has  to  re-measure  the  Cosmos  and  form- 
ulate such  measurement  in  his  own  terms;  still  the 
cosmical  Measure  has  always  gone  in  advance  of 
him  and  given  him  the  cue.  The  mathematician 
comes  to  Nature  with  his  Measure,  which  is  his 
science,  having  the  certainty  that  it  is  her  own 
also.  The  unembodicd  forms  of  Measure,  which  are 
mathematical,  become  incorporate  in  the  Cosmos, 
and  rule  its  Motion  and  Matter.  Gravitation  is  a 
cosmical  Measure  (directly  as  to  mass,  inversely  as 
to  distance)  which  existed  in  bodies  long  before 
Newton  formulated,  even  before  man  existed. 
Indeed  this  was  peculiarly  the  gift  of  Newton,  the 
cosmical  gift  of  Measure,  which  seemed  to  be 
stamped  upon  his  soul  as  upon  the  soul  of  the 
Cosmos. 

Motion  and  Mattel-  must,  accoi-dingly,  have  their 
third,  which  is  Measure,  in  order  to  form  t\w  \n'o- 
cess  of  the  elemental  Cosmos.  This  process  under- 
lies many  of  the  simplest  expressions  of  our  daily 


116  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

life.  When  I  say :  the  train  moves  forty  miles  an 
hour,  the  conception  rests  upon  Motion,  Matter, 
Measure;  or  a  piece  of  moving  Matter  is  meas- 
ured— measured  indeed  in  the  science  of  Measure. 
But  the  train  must  first  run  at  a  certain  speed, 
must  measure  itself  in  Motion  actually,  in  the  spe- 
cial case.  Now  it  is  this  Measure,  inherent  in  all 
Nature,  which  we  seek  to  grasp  not  merely  in  the 
special  case,  but  universally,  as  it  is  in  itself.  It 
thus  becomes  the  pure  form  of  itself,  expressed  in 
its  own  categories,  and  measuring  itself  first  of  all 
and  not  something  else. 

It  is  true  that  when  this  ideal  Measure  has  un- 
folded itself  in  its  own  pure  forms — in  numbers, 
figures,  symbols,  which  represent  only  its  own  pro- 
cesses— it  is  re-appHed  to  the  world  outside  of  it; 
we  can  say  it  goes  back  and  organizes  Motion  and 
Matter,  making  their  original  implicit  Measure  (or 
Quantity)  explicit,  and  giving  expression  to  their 
native  but  hitherto  unuttered,  or  at  least  unor- 
dered, harmonics.  Mathematics,  which  we  may 
call  the  science  of  universal  Measure,  is  easily  cos-, 
mical,  finding  its  most  open  field  in  the  Cosmos. 
Certainly  the  Diacosmos  is  far  less  mathematical, 
though  it  too  must  have  its  measurements. 

We  shall  find,  then,  that  Measure  is  at   first  in- 
stinctive, as  when  the  savage  holds  up  the  fingers 
of  both  hands  in  order  to   count  ten   days  or  ten 
moons.     But  that  which   he   measures  is  already ' 
measured — the  day  or  the  moon — by  the  Cosmos 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — MEASURE.  117 

itself,  iind  he  is  but  expressing  in  his  way  that  pri- 
mal 'cosniical  measurement.  Plainly  the  savage 
has  in  him  the  instinct  of  Measure,  but  undevel- 
oped and  tied  to  material  reality.  With  the  ages, 
however,  as  he  liberates  himself,  he  will  likewise 
liberate  his  enslaved  sense  of  Measure,  making  it 
truly  free,  determined  by  itself  through  its  own 
forms,  not  through  those  of  external  Matter.  Then 
these  pure  forms  of  Measure  will  return  to  the  real 
forms  of  Matter,  out  of  which  they  have  evolved, 
and  utter  anew  its  measured  essence  or  its  innate 
quantitative  character.  Such  is  the  movement: 
Measure,  first  manifested  in  innnediate  unity  with 
the  material  world,  must  separate  itself  therefrom, 
and  make  its  own  world  (the  mathematical), 
whence  it  will  go  back  to  Motion  and  Matter, 
expressing  their  essence  anew,  and  even  re-consti- 
tuting them  after  its  ideal  pattern.  Measure  is 
not  only  to  re-state  but  to  re-create  the  Cosmos; 
at  least  that  is  the  start  it  is  making  here  on  our 
terrestrial  sphere,  which  is  relatively  small  enough. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  the  ele- 
mental Cosmos  is  a  psychical  process;  its  elements — 
Motion,  Matter,  Measure — as  here  conceived,  form 
a  Psychosis.  Therein  it  bc^ars  the  impress  of  its 
creative  source,  and  is  brought  into  unity  with  the 
universe.  We  call  the  All-Self  great,  it  not  only 
has  magnitude  but  is  magnitude,  yea  the  first  mag- 
nitude, fountain  of  all  the  rest.  The  Pampsychosis, 
begetting  Nature  as  one  of  its  stages,  imuarts  to 


118  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

its  child  its  own  j^rocess,  which  is  its  spirit,  and 
which  is  re-enacted  in  ail  of  Nature's  processes, 
though  deeply  separated  from  their  origin. 

And  now  we  are  to  observe  that  this  Measure, 
though  the  third  part  in  a  greater  movement,  has 
nevertheless  a  complete  movement  within  itself, 
still  psychical  and  imaging  the  All.  It  has  been 
already  said  that  Measure  is  mathematical,  and 
consequently  it  divides  into  the  three  basic  disci- 
plines of  Mathematics:  (I)  Geometry,  (II)  Arith- 
metic, and  (III)  Algebra.  Of  course  these  do  not 
exhaust  the  total  science  of  Mathematics.  They 
constitute,  however,  its  germinal  process,  and  as 
such  have  a  very  important  place  in  pedagogy. 
Their  psychical  order  should  be  specially  consid- 
ered, since  it  is  often  neglected  or  perverted  in 
the  school.  The  science  of  Quantity  is  usually 
given  as  the  definition  of  Mathematics;  note  again 
that  Quantity  has  to  exist  before  there  can  be  any 
science  of  it.  And  we  may  repeat  that  Mathe- 
matical science  must  be  finally  conceived  as  a  part 
of  Nature's  science,  as  a  stage  of  her  scientific  evo- 
lution. It  is  not  something  isolated,  though  in  its 
sphere  it  is  self-occupied,  self-developing,  self- 
measuring.  Measure  we  have  seen  to  return  upon 
itself  and  to  measure  itself;  still  just  that  quahty 
of  it  gives  to  it  its  place  in  the  elemental  Cosmos. 
The  impHcit  Quantity  of  Motion  and  still  more  of 
Matter  becomes  explicit,  no  longer  involved  in 
something  else  but  evolved  in  itself,  having  its  own 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— GEOMETRY.        119 

§elf-evolution  where  the  total  evolution  of  Nature 
puts  it.  The  three  basic  sciences  of  Measure  we 
shall  seek  to  give  in  their  psychical  order,  to  de- 
velop in  themselves,  and  at  the  same  time  to  trace 
certain  Hnes  of  their  interconnection. 

I.  Geometry.  This  we  shall  place  first  in  the 
order  of  the  mathematical  sciences,  since  it  deals 
with  the  first  elemental  form  of  Nature — Space. 
Geometry  cannot  be  the  science  of  pure  Space,  an 
outline  of  which  has  been  already  given;  nor  is  its 
object  to  investigate  the  properties  of  Space,  as  is 
sometimes  said.  The  word  itself  has  in  it  the  cate- 
gory of  Measure  {metron)  which  is  not  to  be  left 
out.  Geometry  has  to  do  with  Space  limited,  de- 
termined, measured,  dimensioned;  not  only  is  ex- 
tension taken  for  granted,  but  also  its  dimensions 
— point,  line,  surface.  Some  geometricians  begin 
their  science  with  the  conception  of  a  solid  ''as  a 
limited  portion  of  Space"  from  which  the  foregoing 
three  dimensions  are  to  be  abstracted.  Says  Le- 
gendre  (perhaps  getting  a  little  antiquated) :  Ge- 
ometry "has  for  its  object  the  measurement  of 
extension."  So  Measure  turns  back  to  Space  already 
given,  and  measures  it  as  limited  or  quantified. 
This  again  involves  Quantity  as  something  already 
given.  Geometry,  therefore,  as  the  science  of 
spatial  Measure,  must  have  in  advance  pure  Space 
and  pure  Quantity,  both  of  which  we  have  seen  to 
be  elements  of  original  Motion.  The  starting-point 
of  Geometry  is  usually  the  form  of  limited  or  en- 


120  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

closed  Space  called  the  angle,  which  is  already 
Space  quantified  in  the  meeting  of  the  two  straight 
lines.  Now  it  is  this  primal  spatial  Quantity 
which  Geometry  measures  in  the  equation  that 
"the  two  adjacent  angles  are  equal  to  two  right 
angles."  This  is  properly  the  reduction  of  a  great 
diversity  of  angles  to  a  unit  of  Measure,  the  right 
angle,  which  is  always  the  same.  But  this  right 
angle  is  itself  a  Quantity  (a  How-much) ,  which 
measures  a  Quantity  (here  of  Space  limited,  but 
not  yet  measured) .  Again  we  observe  that  Meas- 
ure is  Quantity  quantified,  or  turned  back  upon 
itself  and  quantifying  itself. 

It  is  evident  that  Quantity  by  itself  cannot 
measure  Motion  or  Matter,  this  can  be  done  only  by 
Quantity  quantified.  Motion  unfolds  Quantity  at 
first  as  a  stage  of  itself  and  so  determines  it;  but 
Measure  returns  to  Motion  and  determines  it  anew 
as  measured.  That  is,  Quantity  must  have  quan- 
tified itself  (as  Measure)  before  it  can  quantify 
anything  else.  Geometry  we  have  seen  starting 
with  this  typical  act  of  spatial  self-quantification, 
which  indeed  makes  it  mathematical. 

There  is  a  decided  evolutionary  character  in  Ge- 
ometry as  a  science.  Given  what  it  demands  for 
a  beginning,  it  has  or  can  be  made  to  have  a  very 
subtle  yet  ever-progressive  development.  Its 
propositions  and  even  its  figures  evolve  out  of  one 
another  in  a  sort  of  creative  order.  It  was  prob- 
ably Euclid  who  first  introduced  this   evolution  of 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— GEOMETRY.        121 

successive  forms  into  the  science,  and  thereby  gave 
to  it  an  extraordinary  permanence.  In  its  way  it 
is  a  kind  of  mathematical  anticipation  and  proph- 
ecy of  Darwin.  In  the  two  men  we  may  put 
together  the  evolution  of  space-forms  as  the  first 
and  most  abstract  stage  of  Nature,  and  the  evolu- 
tion of  life-forms  as  the  latest  and  most  concrete 
stage  of  Nature.  On  this  evolutionary  side,  even 
in  the  way  of  exposition,  Geometry  still  awaits 
important  triumphs. 

We  are  to  see  distinctly  what  Geometry  assumes 
in  order  to  get  a  start.  Three  kinds  of  pre-suppo- 
sitions  it  makes.  First  of  all,  it  takes  for  granted 
Space  and  the  spatial  dimensions;  secondly,  it 
quite  unconsciously  assumes  pure  Quantity ;  thirdly, 
it  more  or  less  consciously  acknowledges  antece- 
dent axioms,  definitions,  postulates.  Of  course  the 
inquiring  mind  will  ask,  whence  come  all  these 
assumptions?  It  is  not  the  place  of  Geometry  to 
tell,  a  science  more  universal  must  do  that,  per- 
chance a  complete  science  of  Nature.  And  yet 
Nature  also  is  something  given,  which  can  hardly 
tell  its  own  origin.  In  like  manner  biological  evo- 
lution is  compelled  to  assume  life  and  to  unfold 
that  from  its  faintest  germ.  It  is  generally  agreed 
by  scientists  that  no  animate  thing  has  been  de- 
rived chemically  or  otherwise  from  an  inanimate 
object.  Thus  Nature  as  scientific  is  as  yet  evolu- 
tionary only  in  fragments.  The  geometric  fragment 
is  one,  seemingly  the  first  one  having  a  considerable 


122  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

continuity.  The  biological  fragment  is  another, 
the  most  recent  and  truly  epoch-making,  as  it  has 
made  evolution  the  conscious  end  of  total  Nature. 

The  divisions  of  Geometry  can  be  made  from 
various  points  of  view.  As  the  Space-limiting  line 
is  fundamental  in  this  science — it  usually  starts 
with  two  given  lines — its  divisions  may  be  taken 
from  the  three  kinds  of  lines — straight,  curved, 
circular.  The  transition  from  the  rectilineal  figure 
to  the  curvilineal  has  always  been  one  of  the  piv- 
otal turns  in  Geometry.  Indeed  one  cannot  ex- 
actly pass  into  the  other  without  a  dividing  chasm 
which  may  indeed  be  made  very  small,  but  which 
always  remains.  The  straight  diameter  refuses  to 
measure  its  own  circle  exactly — they  insist  upon 
staying  separate,  though  the  computation  has  been 
carried  up  to  707  places  by  William  Shanks  (in 
1873).  Of  course  such  a  long  row  of  figures  is 
totally  intractable  and  indeed  unreadable.  Still 
the  gap  remains  at  the  end,  and  is  impassable. 
In  like  manner  the  quadrature  of  the  circle  shows 
the  same  impassable  gap.  The  transition  from  the 
inscribed  polygon  to  the  circumference  has  always 
to  take  a  last  leap  from  straight  to  round  after 
even  "infinite  subdivision"  (significantly  called 
"the  process  of  exhaustion"  by  the  old  Greek 
sophist  Antiphon,  who  is  said  to  have  introduced 
it  into  Geometry,  where  it  still  is  found). 

If  the  straight  line  has  to  be  endowed  with  infi- 
nite divisibility  in  order  to  bend  it  into  the  curve, 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — GEOMETRY.        123 

what  becomes  of  it  when  infinitely  protended? 
Again  the  straight  fine  is  made  to  contradict  itself, 
for  it  is  by  nature  finite,  limited,  a  geometric 
quantmn.  When  divided  to  infinity  or  when  pro- 
duced to  infinity,  it  seems  to  recoil  and  to  make 
great  geometric  trouble.  So  it  comes  that  Euclid's 
definition  of  parallel  straight  fines  as  those  ''which 
never  meet,  however  far  produced  in  both  direc- 
tions," has  been  the  center  of  much  discussion. 
For  the  question  comes  up:  What  if  they  be  infi- 
nitely produced,  extended  with  Space  itself?  And 
what  if  Space  is  also  curved,  is  spheroidal  as  well 
as  homaloidal  or  flat,  as  EucHd  tacitly  assumes  it? 
At  this  point  the  socalled  new  Geometry  rises  to 
view,  evoking  for  science  a  new  Space,  or  at  least 
a  new  conception  of  Space,  which  is  no  longer  to 
be  of  the  one  homogeneous  invariable  kind  hitherto 
accepted,  but  is  of  several  kinds.  Such  is  the 
modern  struggle  to  burst  the  old  spatial  bounds  of 
Geometry  fixed  so  firmly  by  Greek  Euclid  (say 
about  300  B.  C).  Even  if  it  be  merely  an  anarchic 
protest  against  the  ancient  order  (as  some  declare) , 
it  is  of  great  interest  as  intimating  the  sphericity 
of  Space,  which  we  have  seen  to  be  the  primal 
elemental  potentiaHty  of  cosmical  Motion  (p.  52). 
So  Geometry  has  not  only  an  inner  evolution, 
which  is  to  be  shown  in  the  explication  of  it  as  a 
science,  but  also  a  corresjionding  outer  historical 
evolution  in  time,  of  which  we  may  note  the  lead- 
ing steps. 


124  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

1.  Oriental  Geometry.  This,  in  general,  clung  to 
the  sensuous  object.  The  name  of  the  science  as 
land-measure  doubtless  came  from  the  Orient  to 
the  Greeks,  from  whom  we  have  received  it,  and 
who  ascribed  its  origin  to  old  Egypt.  The  annual 
overflow  of  the  Nile  caused  changes  which  re- 
quired fresh  surveys.  The  Ahmcs  papyrus  (Egyp- 
tian) which  is  supposed  to  reach  back  at  least  to 
2000  B.  C.  treats  already  of  the  quadrature  of  the 
circle,  has  a  pretty  correct  proportion  between  di- 
ameter and  circumference,  and  would  seem  to 
have  known  something  of  the  Pythagorean  theo- 
rem (that  pertaining  to  the  sides  of  the  right- 
angled  triangle).  Probably  not  as  an  abstract 
universal  proposition  was  the  latter  known,  but 
the  first  and  simplest  concrete  case  of  it,  when  the 
sides  have  the  proportion  of  5  (hypothenuse) ,  4 
and  3.  This  special  case  must  have  been  exempli- 
fied at  an  early  time  by  laying  square  blocks  of 
the  same  size,  as  children  do  at  present. 

Later  Oriental  Geometry  went  to  the  Orient 
from  the  Greeks,  yet  often  left  out  the  reasoned 
demonstration.  Very  suggestive  in  this  regard  is 
the  proof  given  by  the  Hindoo  Bhaskara  of  the 
Pythagorean  theorem.  He  takes  the  square  of 
the  hypothenuse  given  by  a  figure,  and  in  this 
square  he  draws  four  right-angled  triangles,  be- 
tween which  appears  a  small  square  which,  united 
with  the  square  made  up  of  the  four  triangles,  fills 
the  aforesaid  square  of  the  hypothenuse  (see  the 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— GEOMETRY.        125 

figure  in  Cajori,  Hist.  El.  Math.,  p.  123).  Purely 
sensuous  proof  is  this,  one  might  call  it  a  kinder- 
garten demonstration.  There  was  quite  a  devel- 
opment of  Arabian  Geometry  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
but  this  also  was  hardly  more  than  an  adaptation 
of  Greek  works  whose  science,  however,  the  Ara- 
bians principally  have  the  merit  of  having  pre- 
served and  transmitted. 

2.  Greek  Geometry.  In  passing  from  the  Orient 
to  Hellas,  Geometry  becomes  truly  a  science.  It 
unfolds  out  of  its  immediate  sensuous  embodiment 
into  its  abstract  conception,  rising  from  the  par- 
ticular case  to  the  universal  principle.  If  the  an- 
cient Egyptian  knew  one  special  example  of  the 
Pythagorean  theorem,  and  the  later  Hindoo  could 
prove  it  only  to  the  sense  of  sight,  the  Greek  rises 
to  thinking  it  universally,  and  formulating  it  thus 
in  his  speech.  He  separates  Geometry  from  its 
entanglement  in  material  particulars,  and  makes 
it  the  pure  explication  and  measurement  of 
itself.  It  is  no  longer  some  empirical  rule  or  set 
of  rules  to  mete  out  some  external  thing,  but  it  is 
a  science  meting  out  itself.  We  thus  see  it  to  be  a 
stage  of  Measure  which  turns  upon  itself  and  meas- 
ures itself.  Let  us  again  illustrate  by  that  pivotal 
theorem  still  named  after  Greek  Pythagoras:  the 
square  of  the  hypothenuse  of  a  right-angled  triangle 
is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  squares  of  the  other  two 
sides.  In  this  equation  we  see  one  geometric  form 
or  concept  measuring  another  geometric  form  or 


126  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS, 

concept,  performing  an  addition  also,  we  may  sa}'. 
Measure  can  here  be  observed  measuring  itself. 
Or  Quantity  is  again  seen  quantifying  itself — now 
a  geometric  Quantity,  namely  a  square,  which  is 
the  unit  of  Measure.  This  is  an  example  of  just 
what  the  Greek  did :  he  seized  the  geometric  sci- 
ence of  Measure,  freed  it  from  its  material  clog, 
and  turned  it  back  upon  itself,  making  it  meas- 
ure itself.  Then  Geometry  became  scientific,  being 
divested  of  its  Oriental  submergence  in  the  forms 
of  the  particular. 

It  may  be  briefly  premised  that  there  was  a  sim- 
ilar movement  from  the  Orient  to  Greece  along  the 
whole  line  of  science.  Philosophy  goes  the  same 
way,  seeking  for  the  first  time  to  grasp  and  form- 
ulate ''the  essence  of  being"  in  its  own  pure 
thought  and  categories.  Now  it  is  a  striking  and 
very  significant  fact  that  the  first  noted  Greek  ge- 
ometer was  also  the  first  Greek  philosopher, 
Thales  of  Miletus.  He  is  reported  to  have  gone  to 
Egypt  for  study  and  soon  to  have  surpassed  his 
Oriental  masters,  Greek  that  he  was,  and  also  an 
undoubted  genius.  Plutarch  recounts  how  he  as- 
tonished the  Egyptian  king,  Amasis,  by  calculating 
the  heights  of  the  pyramids  from  their  shadows,  these 
being  proportional  to  the  shadow  of  his  walking- 
stick,  which  could  easily  be  measured.  Quite  a 
number  of  geometric  theorems  are  ascribed  to  Thales 
by  an  ancient  historian  of  Geometry,  Eudemus,  a 
pupil  of  Aristotle.     From  an  earher  authority,  the 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — GEOMETRY.         127 

historian  Herodotus,  we  learn  that  Thales  knew  of 
the  nattire  of  eclipses.  His  geometric  work  seems 
to  have  dealt  chiefly  with  lines  and  angles;  thus 
it  recalls  the  first  propositions  of  our  present  Ge- 
ometry. Such  must  have  been  indeed  the  start 
of  the  science. 

Pythagoras,  also  a  philosopner,  is  another  great 
name  in  early  Greek  Geometry.  He  too  visited 
Egypt,  and  possibly  Babylon,  making  in  person 
the  transition  out  of  the  Orient  to  Greece.  His 
greatest  and  most  lasting  deed  is  that  he  founded 
a  school  and  made  Geometry  (and  Mathematics 
generally)  an  educational  discipline,  which  it  re- 
mains to  this  day.  Pythagoras  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  actual  schoolmaster,  and  the  curric- 
ulum of  his  school  has  been  unfolded  but  not 
superseded.  A'arious  geometric  propositions  are 
ascribed  to  him  and  to  his  pupils,  from  whom  the 
master  cannot  be  separated  even  by  the  lapse  of 
centuries.  Already  Aristotle  speaks  of  the  Pytha- 
goreans, rarely  of  Pythagoras.  And  the  most 
unique,  if  not  the  most  important  proposition  in 
Geometry,  still  bears  his  name.  It  has  exercised 
a  marvelous  fascination  in  all  ages  upon  the  geo- 
metric mind,  and  the  charm  is  not  yet  over  if  w. 
may  judge  by  the  title  of  the  following  book: 
*'Six  and  forty  proofs  of  the  Pythagorean  theorem," 
(translated  from  Russian  into  German,  1880). 
Pythagoras  is  said  to  have  sacrificed  a  hecatomb 
to  the  Gods  in  his  joy   over  the  discovery.     What 


128  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

method  of  pi*oof  he  used  is  unknown,  but  probably 
the  Greek  as  distinct  from  the  Egyptian,  which  he 
must  have  learned  in  the  land  of  the  Nile.  Some 
recent  writers  conjecture  that  his  demonstration 
was  similar  to  that  of  the  Hindoo  Bhaskara  al- 
ready cited.  If  so,  then  he  had  not  fully  made 
the  transition  from  the  Oriental  to  the  Greek  geo- 
metric consciousness.  But  such  a  view  is  very 
improbable,  as  it  throws  Pythagoras  out  of  his 
place  in  the  line  of  scientific  evolution.  And  it  is 
not  pretended  that  there  is  any  fact  to  support 
such  an  opinion. 

Interesting  is  Hegel's  view  of  the  Pythagorean 
theorem,  which  he  extols  as  the  greatest  of  geo- 
metric theorems,  being  "an  image  of  the  Idea.  It 
is  a  true  totality,  which  has  divided  itself  within 
itself,  as  every  form  in  Philosophy  is  divided  within 
itself  as  Conception  and  Reality  "  {Phil,  der  Na- 
tur  s.  61).  The  side  of  Reality  in  the  foregoing- 
theorem  is  plain  enough,  but  the  side  of  Conception 
(Begriff)  is  what  gives  trouble.  This  Hegelian  Con- 
ception is,  in  general,  the  process  of  universality, 
particularity  and  individuality,  as  set  forth  in  the 
philosopher's  Logic.  But  it  is  not  obvious  how  the 
Pythagorean  theorem  manifests  those  three  cate- 
gories of  Conception  (in  the  Hegelian  sense)  and 
Hegel  does  not  explain  the  difficulty .  We  may  well 
think,  however,  that  there  is  a  triune  psychical 
process  lying  at  the  basis  of  this  theorem  (and  in- 
deed of   Mathematics  generally).     It  starts  with 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — GEOMETRY.        129 

the  one  (square),  unfolds  into  the  two  (squares), 
which  return  and  unite  in  equality  with  the  first 
one  (square).  In  such  a  statement  we  may  note 
the  process  both  arithmetically  and  geometrically. 
In  this  connection  it  may  be  added  that  Hegel 
makes  Quantity  a  category  of  pure  Logic  (the 
second  stage  of  Being),  and  not  of  Nature. 
Kant  on  the  other  hand  places  Quantity  first  on 
his  list  of  the  four  general  categories  of  the  Under- 
standing. Thus  the  great  philosophers  differ  about 
the  ordering  of  Quantity  as  about  many  other 
things.  Hegel  in  his  Logic  has  the  merit  of  seeing 
the  importance  of  Measure,  which,  however,  he 
correlates  directly  with  Quantity  and  Quality, 
designating  it  as  quantitivo  Quality.  As  we  re- 
gard it,  Quantity  evolves  in  and  through  Nature, 
and  is  to  be  co-ordinated  in  that  sphere.  To  be 
sure,  Quantity  is  psychical,  or  we  may  say,  pam- 
psychical;  but  so  is  Nature,  one  of  whose  stages  it 
is  in  the  cosmical  order.  But  let  us  return  to  our 
geometrical  sketch. 

Plato's  love  of  Geometry  is  well  known;  on  ac- 
count of  its  abstraction  from  the  material  world  it 
appealed  powerfully  to  the  Greek  idealist.  Over 
the  door  of  his  Academy  stood  the  famous  inscrip- 
tion: "Let  no  one  unacquainted  with  Geometry 
enter  here."  Seemingly  it  was  his  propedeutic  for 
philosophy  and  also  for  ethics,  the  preparatory 
training  to  a  vision  of  the  supersensible  Idea  which 
was  the  Platonic  principle. 


130  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

But  the  greatest  name  in  Greek  Geometry, 
indeed  in  all  Geometry,  is  that  of  Euchd  of  Alex- 
andria (about  300  B.C.)-  Not  much  is  known  con- 
cerning his  life,  but  he  has  left  a  text-book  called 
the  Elements,  which  still  holds  its  place  in  geomet- 
rical instruction,  though  not  without  opposition. 
Some  have  thought  that  Geometry  sprang  ready- 
made  from  the  brain  of  Euclid,  but  such  was  not 
the  case.  It  was  an  evolution,  even  in  Greece. 
Still  EucUd  did  the  greatest  geometric  act  in  all 
time.  What  was  it?  He  organized  the  science 
previously  disconnected;  he  established  the  geo- 
metric method  of  proof,  though  he  probably  did 
not  discover  it;  he  impressed  upon  Geometry  that 
evolutionary  character  so  significant  of  the  future. 
He  ordered  the  disjointed  fragments  into  a  grand 
totality,  he  was  the  Homer  of  Geometry,  and  for 
this  reason  his  work  has  lasted  like  Homer's.  In 
the  medieval  time  he  became  an  authority  on  his 
science,  which  was  not  to  be  called  into  question. 
At  last  a  reaction  began  to  appear,  the  human 
spirit  felt  itself  fettered  by  Euclid's  limitations,  by 
his  method,  by  his  pre-suppositions.  Various  at- 
tempts arose  to  transcend  him,  and  even  to  sup- 
plant him. 

3.  Modern  Geometry.  Such  is  the  name  which 
the  new  geometric  movement  or  protest  usually 
gives  to  itself.  We  also  hear  of  the  non-Euclidean 
Geometry  in  contrast  with  the  Euclidean,  which 
has  been  subjected  in  recent  years  to  sharp  crit- 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— GEOMETRY.         131 

icism.  Pangeometry  is  likewise  one  of  its  designa- 
tions. ,  First  of  all  the  old  conception  of  Space  is 
challenged,  as  ah'eady  stated.  The  Euclidean 
postulate  of  parallel  lines  is  especially  assailed. 
Even  a  new  dimension  of  Space,  the  fourth,  is 
affirmed  by  some  disciples.  On  the  whole  the 
movement  takes  a  strikingly  revolutionary  aspect. 
It  seems  to  turn  against  the  transmitted  con- 
ception of  Geometry  with  a  vengeful,  destructive 
spirit.  Euclid,  the  ancient  architect  of  the  science, 
is  disparaged  in  various  ways,  even  is  condemned 
as  a  bad  reasoner.  Some  educators  would  banish 
his  time-honored  text-book  from  the  schools,  while 
others  would  restore  its  partially  lost  supremacy. 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  chief  opponent  of 
the  traditional  Geometry  hails  from  Russia.  Nich- 
olas Lobatchewsky's  book,  called  "Geometrical 
Investigations,"  is  declared  by  his  fervent  disciples 
to  be  the  dawn  of  a  new  era  in  Geometry.  "What 
Copernicus  was  to  Ptolemy,  that  was  Lobatch- 
ewsky  to  Euclid,"  says  Professor  Clifford.  One 
cannot  help  thinking  that  here  again  is  a  Slavic 
voice  of  protest  against  the  established  European 
order  in  science,  and  perchance  in  civilization. 
The  same  voice  can  be  heard  in  Russian  music, 
literature,  politics.  To  be  sure  other  peoples  show 
a  similai'  tendency;  the  geometric  nihilist  is  pretty 
much  everywhere  during  these  daj^s,  battering  at 
the  ancient  structure  of  Euclid,  which,  however, 
does  not  lack  stout  def(>nders. 


132  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

It  should  be  noted  that  this  modern  Geometry 
tm'ns  back  to  the  pre-suppositions  of  Euchd,  test- 
ing and  often  denying  the  truth  of  what  he  took 
for  granted.  As  yet  the  result  seems  to  be  largely 
negative.  What  will  be  the  positive  outcome? 
When  the  new  Euclid  appears  and  re-organizes  the 
whole  science,  then  we  may  be  able  to  tell. 

But  now  we  must  pass  from  the  Measure  of  ele- 
mental Space  or  pure  extension  (which  gives  Ge- 
ometry) ,  to  the  Measure  of  elemental  Time  or  pure 
succession  (which  gives  Number)  whose  science  is 
the  following : 

11.  Arithmetic.  The  definition  of  Arithmetic, 
as  generally  given,  is  the  science  of  number  or  of 
numbers — this  plural  is  significant,  since  it  sug- 
gests separation,  multipHcity,  the  second  place  of 
the  present  process.  In  this  definition  two  terms 
or  concepts  are  expHcitly  assumed:  science  and 
numbers.  Whence  do  they  come?  Arithmetic  is 
one  of  the  mathematical  sciences,  belonging  to 
Measure,  in  which  Quantity  turns  back  and  quan- 
tifies itself.  So  we  have  just  seen  it  doing  with 
Space  and  producing  the  science  of  Geometry. 
But  at  present  Quantity  manifests  itself  in  a  new 
form  or  in  a  new  Quantum,  namely  in  the  abstract 
unit,  or  the  one,  the  ground  of  arithmetical  Meas- 
ure. Now  this  quantitative  limited  one,  just  by 
virtue  of  its  limit  must  have  another  one  outside 
of  it,  indeed  many  ones  or  multiplicity.  Thus 
dialectically  we  enter  the  realm  of  number  and  of 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ARITHMETIC.       133 

numbers,  which  must  come  primarily  from  Quan- 
tity.   ' 

It  is  usual  to  i)ut  Arithmetic  before  Geometry, 
and  in  the  order  of  study  the  tyro  begins  com- 
monly his  mathematical  drill  with  the  properties  of 
numbers  rather  than  with  the  properties  of  spatial 
figures.  Still  this  old  way  is  being  changed  in  the 
new  education.  The  kindergarten  places  first  in 
the  hand  of  child  geometric  forms  which  he  is  to 
get  acquainted  with  through  play.  This  is  the  ear- 
liest human  mastery  of  the  external  world  organ- 
ized in  itself  and  made  a  part  of  the  school.  Thus 
the  child  grapples  with  the  primal  element  of  Nat- 
ure, Space — here  not  pure  Space,  but  Space  lim- 
ited, formed,  measured,  which  it  is  to  re-measure 
and  indeed  to  re-form.  That  is  the  order  of  the 
Cosmos,  and  also  the  order  of  education.  A  great 
step  in  the  deepening  of  pedagogical  science  it 
must  be  regarded  when  the  geometrical  act  is 
made  to  precede  the  arithmetical  in  the  training 
of  the  child-mind,  when  the  concrete  spatial  form 
is  presented  to  the  young  brain  just  beginning  its 
cosmical  conquest,  before  the  abstract  numerical 
unit,  which  projierly  conies  afterwards,  both  in 
Nature  and  in  Thought. 

Arithmetic  nuist,  accordingly,  be  jjut  second  in 
the  process  of  Measure,  or  in  the  basic  mathemat- 
ical Psychosis.  Fundamentally  it  is  separative, 
akin  to  the  ever-separating  Time,  in  contrast  with 
the  unseparative,  indifferent,  purely  homogeneous 


134  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Space.  Arithmetic  takes  at  the  start  the  unit  as 
c{uantum,  or  the  quantified  one,  which,  however, 
must  as  hmited  rej^eat  itself  and  become  many 
ones,  or  numbers.  Time  hkewise  keeps  forever 
dividing  itself  into  a  succession  of  moments,  each 
of  which  is  a  separated  unit  when  quantified. 
We  have  already  seen  how  Quantity  as  such 
follows  Time  and  quantifies  the  same  (as  it  also 
quantifies  Space)  getting  the  unit  generically 
which  is  the  ultimate  measurer  of  all  things.  Num- 
bers, of  which  Arithmetic  is  called  the  science, 
are  primarily  discrete,  successive,  temporal  we 
may  say,  keeping  up  the  relation  to  Time.  This 
arithmetical  science,  however,  is  numbers  sys- 
temed,  ordered,  put  into  their  own  inner  process. 
But  whence  comes  this  their  process  originally, 
and  what  puts  them  into  the  same?  The  ques- 
tion carries  us  back  to  that  psychical  impress 
which  we  have  seen  stamped  upon  Nature  every- 
where, ordering  it  and  making  it  in  all  its  details 
an  integral  part  of  the  universe  of  science. 

Thinkers  have  repeatedly  connected  Arithmetic, 
the  second  stage  of  the  psychosis  of  Measure,  with 
Time,  which  is  also  a  second  stage,  namely  of  ele- 
mental Motion.  Kant  seems  to  hold  that  Time 
is  the  source  of  the  concept  of  Measure.  Time  is 
a  perennial  creation  of  units  in  the  form  of  tem- 
poral moments;  these  units  when  quantified  and 
made  purely  abstract  are  relieved  of  their  quality 
of  Time.     Thus  they  become  pure  quanta  or  nu- 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ARITHMETIC.       135 

merical  ones,  and  are  ready  for  Measure,  or  spe- 
cially for  Arithmetic,  which  takes  numbers  for 
granted,  without  deriving  them.  Its  function  is 
to  apply  numbers  to  numbers,  in  general  to  turn 
Number  back  upon  itself  and  to  make  it  meas- 
ure itself  in  its  own  numerical  terms.  Simple  ad- 
dition is  already  such  an  act  of  Measure,  if  we 
scrutinize  it  carefully.  We  can  hardly  call  Arith- 
metic the  science  of  Time,  though  a  great  math- 
ematician, Sir  W.  R.  Hamilton,  designated  Al- 
gebra or  universal  Arithmetic  ''as  the  science  of 
pure  Time."  But  we  might  say  that  Arithmetic 
is  based  upon  Time  quantified — the  temporal  suc- 
cession of  moments  being  transformed  by  Quan- 
tity into  abstract  quanta  or  units.  This  discrete- 
ness of  Time  is  likewise  the  primal  source  of  all 
atomism.  In  like  manner  Geometry  cannot  be 
called  the  science  of  pure  Space,  but  of  Space 
limited,  quantified,  made  into  spatial  quanta, 
conceived  as  geometrical  figures.  To  be  sure  in 
Space  the  quantitative  unit  is  suggested  by  the 
point,  but  there  it  is  as  yet  only  potential.  To 
use  terms  already  employed  in  this  same  connec- 
tion, the  spatial  point  is  the  unit  as  merely  quan- 
tifiable, the  temporal  point  with  its  succession  is 
the  unit  quantifying,  which  becomes  quantified  or 
the  quantitative  one  through  Quantity  itself. 
Such  is  the  abstract  quantum  or  numerical  unit 
which  is  taken  up  by  Arithmetic  as  a  fundamental 
assumption. 


136  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Here  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  first  Arithmetic, 
like  the  first  Geometry,  inhered  in  sensuous  things, 
from  which  it  had  to  be  separated  and  puri- 
fied, being  thereby  transformed  into  a  true  mathe- 
matical science.  The  primitive  man  counts  by 
concrete  objects,  not  by  abstract  numbers;  still 
less  is  he  able  to  make  these  numbers  measure 
themselves.  But  the  pure  number  lies  implicitly 
in  his  sensuous  numeration  by  his  fingers.  Now 
this  pure  number  is  what  he  has  to  separate  from 
its  material  embodiment,  and  to  make  it  work  in 
and  through  itself.  Arithmetic  as  a  science  is 
the  ideal  number-world  organized  into  a  system 
which  likewise  has  its  own  inner  processes. 

The  total  view  of  Arithmetic  will  embrace  three 
great  systemic  phases  of  Number,  which  we  may 
designate  in  advance  as  follows:  First  is  to  be 
considered  the  Germinal  System  of  Number,  its 
primal  psychical  conception.  From  this  unfold, 
secondly,  the  Special  Systems  of  Number,  the 
manifold  Number-Systems  of  the  world  (or  nu- 
meraries).  Finally  we  are  to  attain  the  Scientific 
System  of  Number,  the  organized  science  of 
Arithmetic,  such  as  we  know  to-day,  and  such  as 
civilized  man  has  known  and  developed  into  its 
present  stage. 

1.  The  Germinal  System  of  Number.  In  this 
caption  we  seek  to  indicate  the  first  inner  ideal 
form  of  the  numerical  System.  Such  a  primordial 
form  is  made  up  of    three  and  is  triune ;  oneness 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ARITHMETIC.       137 

unfolds  through  duaUty  to  threeness  which  returns 
to  oneness,  constituting  one  process  which  is, 
however,  threefokl,  else  it  could  be  no  process. 
All  other  numbers  are  products,  in  fact  repeti- 
tions of  one  or  ones  which  are  separated  and 
thrown  off  by  this  germinal  act  of  number-mak- 
ing. Already  in  Time  we  found  even  in  the  mo- 
ment a  thrill,  a  kind  of  oscillation  which  at  least 
hinted  from  afar  a  return  upon  itself  that  made  it 
one  moment.  The  oscillating  pendulum  will  bring 
to  a  striking  manifestation  outwardly  this  innate 
tendency  of  Time.  But  at  present  our  task  is  to 
grasp  the  place  and  the  imjwrt  of  this  genetic 
process  of  Number  which  is  verily  its  creative  cell 
or  the  germ  of  its  system. 

Here,  however,  the  thought  may  be  expressed 
that  such  a  genetic  system  of  number  is  itself 
numbered,  and  at  the  same  time  numbers  all 
genesis  of  every  kind  in  the  world.  The  Pampsy- 
chosis  utters  itself  in  nuniljcr,  yea  in  just  the  cre- 
ative triune  process  of  number.  The  Universe  is 
arithmetical,  but  also  Arithmetic  is  universal,  its 
impress  is  on  every  process  of  Nature,  which  her 
science  has  to  separate  and  to  express  in  its  own 
terms.  To  be  sure  the  All  is  something  else  be- 
sides number,  but  it  is  number  likewise,  and  has 
always  to  be  luunberod,  especially  in  its  pro- 
cesses, else  a  link  is  left  out,  yea  just  the  inter- 
linking of  the  great  Totality  is  left  out.  Such  a 
glimpse  we  may  here  take   in  advance  *  but  now 


138  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

we  must  turn  back  to  our  genetic  tnmty  of  num- 
ber and  see  it  generating  its  special  science  which 
is  Arithmetic. 

(a)  The  primal  quantitative  one  or  numerical 
unit  we  have  to  pick  up  again  at  this  point,  hav- 
ing previously  found  it  in  Quantity,  which  quanti- 
fied it  directly  from  Time  or  more  remotely  from 
Space.  Now  the  first  peculiarity  of  this  numerical 
one  is  that  it  cannot  stay  with  itself,  but  must  be- 
come another  in  order  to  be  distinctively  itself. 
We  cannot  conceive  of  one  without  two,  it  is  said; 
the  mind  cannot  grasp  unity  without  the  contrast 
of  separation.  But  the  far  deeper  fact  is  that  the 
mind  is  unity  in  itself  along  with  separation ;  so  is 
Nature,  so  is  the  Universe.  Thus  our  quantitative 
one,  in  order  to  be  this  distinct  primal  unit,  must 
have  two,  yea  must  beget  two,  or  another  one 
which  is  separate  from  itself.  We  do  this  subject- 
ively; but  number  does  this  also,  objectively, 
that  is  the  one  cannot  be  the  first  one  as  limited 
without  the  two  which  limits  it  numerically. 

(5)  This  two  is  the  primordial  form  and  expres- 
sion of  all  dualism,  separation  and  division  in  the 
Universe.  Undoubtedly  we  have  often  had  already 
the  psychical  process  and  marked  its  stages  numer- 
ically, but  now  its  numbers,  hitherto  quite  im- 
plicit, have  become  explicit  and  are  realized  in 
their  own  forms.  The  numerical  twain  is  verily  a 
far-reaching  symbol,  suggesting  all  separation, 
alienation,  sin,  being  typically  the  veiy  Deuce  or 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— ARITHMETIC.       139 

the  Devil  perchance.  Still  it  belongs  to  man  and 
Nature,  to  the  Universe,,  yea  to  God  Himself  in 
any  complete  conception.  And  now  we  are  to 
grasp  it  by  itself  as  a  pure  number,  which  is  the 
second  act  or  stage  of  the  simple  numerical  Psy- 
chosis. It  is  the  one  divided  into  the  two  ones,  in 
order  that  the  one  may  be.  Without  two  one 
cannot  be;  but  that  is  not  the  end  of  the  process. 
The  two  goes  back  and  unites  with  the  one,  form- 
ing a  new  number,  three,  which  is  also  one  and  the 
result  of  uniting  the  two  with  the  one.  So  we 
reach  the  numerical  trinity. 

(c)  The  number  three  has  been  celebrated  by 
peoples  of  all  times  and  of  all  stages  of  culture  in 
proverb,  in  folk-lore,  as  well  as  in  Religion  and 
Philosophy.  It  probably  has  the  best  right  to 
be  called  the  sacred  number  of  mankind,  as  that 
number  which  most  helps  humanity  to  conceive 
itself  and  its  God.  Numerically  it  reconciles  the 
self-opposition  of  the  two,  and  the  outer  opposi- 
tion between  the  two  and  the  one.  The  symbol- 
ism of  numbers  can  be  and  often  has  been  carried 
too  far;  but  to  say  that  they  have  no  symbolism 
at  all  is  an  error  in  the  opposite  direction,  an 
error  which  isolates  them  in  the  universe.  They 
have  their  place  in  the  great  Totality,  and  partic- 
ipate in  its  movement;  they  too  bear  the  impress 
and  superscription  of  the  Pampsychosis.  The 
number  three  has  a  mcdiational  effect  even  as  ex- 
ternal number;  it  rounds   out  the  numerical  pro- 


140  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

cess  and  harmonizes  the  duahsm  of  the  same, 
making  the  return  which  unifies  and  completes 
what  was  before  disunited  and  undeveloped. 

The  scientist  is  apt  to  ignore  and  even  to  scorn 
the  far-reaching  psychical  import  of  number, 
branding  such  a  view  of  it  as  vague  rhapsody. 
With  him,  then,  we  shall  go  back  and  consider 
the  purely  arithmetical  power  of  this  first  numer- 
ical process  which  has  shown  itself  triune.  The 
salient  fact  here  is  that  the  primal  genetic  prin- 
ciple of  number  is  just  this  trinity.  It  is  the 
source  from  which  all  other  numbers  arise  and  to 
which  they  are  joined,  being  brought  thereby 
into  the  one  great  numerical  order.  Four,  for  in- 
stance, would  not  have  been  without  the  ante- 
cedent three,  which  made  it  first  a  one  and  then  a 
four,  putting  it  into  its  place  in  the  order.  The 
same  germinal  process  it  is  which  creates  and  con- 
joins with  itself  all  the  succeeding  numbers,  from 
five  to  infinity.  And  it  should  be  added  that 
the  aforesaid  creative  trinity  of  number  becomes 
the  numerical  form  of  every  process  whatever, 
that  of  my  Self  as  well  as  of  the  All-Self. 

Let  it  be  understood,  however,  that  number 
does  not  create  the  psychical  process,  though  it 
always  numbers  the  same  in  the  three  siages 
thereof;  on  the  contrary  it  is  the  psychical  pro- 
cess which  creates  number,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
preceding  development.  The  Pampsychosis  is 
itself  threefold ;  it  numbers    itself  in  its  creative 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ARITHMETIC.      141 

act  and  therein  primordially  creates  number; 
indeed  every  psychical  process  in  accord  with  its 
supreme  origin  must  number  itself.  For  this 
reason  the  recurrence  of  the  triune  stamp  upon 
every  process,  large  and  small,  is  what  marks  its 
connection  with  the  universal  Self,  and  at  least 
hints  its  origin  from  the  same  ultimate  source. 

Such  we  deem  the  germinal  Process  of  Number, 
the  original  source  of  numerical  genesis,  the  primal 
arithmetical  trinity.  But  now  we  are  to  see 
how  this  realizes  itself  in  the  external  sensuous 
world. 

2.  The  Realized  Systems  of  Number.  There  are 
divers  numerical  Systems  derived  from  the  objects 
of  sense.  The  one  trinal  System,  being  germinal, 
unfolds  into  many  outer  shapes.  But  in  clothing 
itself  with  phcnomenality,  the  orignal  threefold 
process  of  number  assumes  external  forms  which 
obscure  it  and  often  seem  to  contradict  it.  There 
are,  for  instance,  the  decimal,  duodecimal  and  vi- 
gesimal Systems,  which  are  outwardly  taken  from 
the  sense-world,  though  their  inner  creative  power 
is  the  numerical  trinity.  The  result  is  a  separation 
which  has  been  variously  designated  as  the  dual- 
ism between  essence  and  appearance,  the  one  and 
the  many,  the  ideal  and  the  real.  Human  experi- 
ence shapes  a  numerical  System,  but  there  must 
be  something  already  shaping  the  act  of  experi- 
ence. Man  counts  at  first  by  external  objects,  but 
he   must   already   have   the   psychic   capacity  to 


142  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

count.    And  in  this  sphere  also  we  shall  observe 
the  process. 

The  process  has  as  its  center  the  number-system, 
which  ought  to  have  a  special  name  (it  might  be 
called  the  numerary,  analogous  to  syllabary  or 
even  dictionary).  It  is  the  numerical  round  or 
cycle  which  always  returns  upon  itself  and  repeats 
itself  in  order  to  go  forward  with  its  increments. 
Such  a  numerary  is  the  decimal  system — the  nu- 
merical self-reduplicating  machine  of  civilized  man 
It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  this  numerary 
always  has  in  it  the  trinal  germinal  process  of 
number — it  starts  with  the  simple  one,  unfolds 
into  multiplicity,  and  then  returns  to  the  one 
which  embraces  all,  constituting  thus  the  system. 

Now  this  numerary  (or  System  of  Number)  has 
its  stages  of  expression  which  likewise  show  an 
historic  as  well  as  a  psychical  evolution.  These 
are,  first,  the  sensuous,  acted  numerary  primarily 
expressed  by  action  of  human  body;  secondly,  the 
spoken  numerary,  introducing  the  abstract  words 
for  number — numeration  or  counting;  thirdly,  the 
written  numerary,  often  called  notation,  the  system 
of  symbols  (symbolary) .  These  important  points 
we  shall  elaborate  a  little. 

(a)  The  sensuous  number-systems  among  primi^ 
tive  peoples  have  been  manifold.  The  first  is 
probably  the  quinal,  taken  from  the  five  fingers 
of  one  hand.  Then  comes  the  system  of  both 
hands   with  their   ten  fingers    which  produce  the 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— ARITHMETIC       143 

decimal  system.  The  ten  toes  of  the  bare-footed 
savage, may  be  joined  with  the  ten  fingers  to  pro- 
duce the  vigesimal  system,  of  which  many  frag- 
ments exist  in  civilized  tongues  {score  in  English, 
quatre-vmgts  in  French).  Also  a  duodecimal  sys- 
tem has  left  a  fragment  behind  in  the  word  dozen, 
and  has  been  recently  urged  for  adoption  on  sev- 
eral grounds.  But  the  most  surprising  of  all 
those  systems  is  the  sexagesimal,  supposed  to  have 
been  used  by  the  ancient  Babylonians  who  were 
great  astronomers,  and  who  are  conjectured  to 
have  transmitted  to  us  our  time-divisions  of  the 
hour  and  minute  into  sixty  parts  each,  and  the 
six  times  sixty  degrees  of  the  circle.  It  is  not 
hard  to  see  that  of  these  multitudinous  number- 
systems  the  decimal  is  the  ever-present  and  most 
practical  counting-machine.  Also  this  system  is 
most  suggestive  of  the  inner  germinal  Process  of 
Number,  employing  in  its  movement  a  one  and 
then  a  two  (in  the  two  hands)  and  finally  the 
unity  of  both  when  placed  together — which  we 
may  consider  the  visible  triune  round  of  the  dec- 
imal System.  This  systemic  unity  becomes  vis- 
ible also  in  the  quinal  System  by  means  of  the 
transverse  thumb  embracing  the  four  extended 
fingers  or  the  four  ones.  A  hint  of  such  a  quinal 
symbolary  has  come  down  from  old  Egypt. 

Other  sensuous  numeraries  have  been  observed; 
indeed  they  embrace  many  gradations,  from  the 
little  bundle  of  sticks  of  the  savage  to  the  com- 


144  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

plicated  counting-machine  of  civilized  man.  But 
the  human  mind  as  numerical  must  reach  out  to 
grasping  and  expressing  number  purely,  as  it  is 
in  itself — which  brings  us  to  the  spoken  nu- 
merary. 

(h)  The  next  psychical  act  is  to  separate  the 
numerical  concept  from  the  sensuous  embodiment 
and  to  voice  it,  to  put  it  into  the  spoken  word 
divested  of  its  material  form.  Man  counts  with 
his  two  fingers  long  before  he  counts  two  by  itself. 
It  is  mental  progress  when  he  can  transform  his 
concrete  numbers  into  abstract  numerals.  The 
child  should  be  trained  to  make  this  transition  in 
the  school.  The  numerical  object-lesson  is  often 
kept  up  too  long,  and  the  pupil  is  stunted  by  not 
making  the  change  when  ready  for  it.  The  ab- 
stract counting  of  a  hundred  is  the  delight  of  chil- 
dren because  it  shows  a  new  mastery,  a  step  for- 
ward. Now  they  begin  to  control  number,  which 
previously  eluded  them,  being  hidden  in  its  mate- 
rial mask.  Some  advanced  peoples  never  fully 
reach  abstract  numeration.  The  Chinese  count 
on  their  fingers  up  to  100,000,  it  is  said.  The 
classic  Greeks  and  Romans  never  could  dispense 
with  their  abacus  in  their  more  complex  reckon- 
ings. To  make  number  speak  out  in  its  own 
form  is  still  quite  an  act  of  education,  which  some 
persons  very  imperfectly  attain.  Abstract  numer- 
als have  their  first  system  in  the  nine  digits  (to 
which  zero  ought  to  be  added).     By  the  way  the 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— ARITHMETIC.      145 

word  digit  comes  from  the  Latin  for  finger,  and 
thus  suggests  the  original  method  of  counting  by 
objects.  So  we  have  seized  upon  a  sensuous  term 
in  a  foreign  tongue  and  have  made  it  abstract  in 
our  own  tongue. 

Suggestive  is  the  fact  that  these  digital  names 
are  radically  alike  in  the  Aryan  tongues,  and  thus 
carry  us  back  before  the  period  of  the  dispersion 
of  our  Asiatic  ancestry.  The  proto-Aryans  evi- 
dently made  the  abstraction  of  the  digits  from 
their  concrete  embodiment,  and  gave  to  them  their 
names,  which  still  exist  rooted  literally  in  the 
speech  of  their  descendants,  forming  our  first  spoken 
numerary, 

(c)  The  spoken  word  or  symbol  for  number  is 
not  enough,  man  must  have  the  written  sign  also 
or  symbol.  Speech  is  indeed  a  social  act,  doubt- 
less the  first  and  greatest  means  of  association 
and  impartation.  But  it  is  limited  spatially  and 
temporally,  being  confined  to  the  particular  place 
and  moment  of  the  speaker.  Such  a  limit  must 
be  transcended  by  limit-transcending  man;  the 
written  symbol  is  to  be  borne  over  Space  and 
down  Time.  In  Arithmetic  this  is  called  Notation 
which  deals  generally  with  the  system  of  number- 
signs. 

In  the  present  field  also  there  are  hints  of  a 
long  evolution,  following  and  indeed  reflecting  the 
movement  of  civiHzation.  From  ancient  Egypt 
traces  of  a  system  of  number-signs  seem  to  have 

10 


146  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

come  down  in  the  form  of  short  lines;  for  in- 
stance one,  two  and  three  are  represented  each  by 
a  corresponding  number  of  vertical  Hnes;  then 
with  four  the  line  changes  to  horizontal  (seem- 
ingly following  a  picture  of  the  four  fingers  with 
the  transverse  thumb).  Thus  the  first  dimension 
of  Space,  the  line,  is  taken  as  the  first  numerical 
form,  and  the  curious  fact  is-  that  this  form  still 
remains  in  our  wTitten  sign  for  the  number  one. 
Here  we  again  are  reminded  of  a  famous  mathe- 
matical statement  that  any  magnitude  whatever 
can  be  represented  by  a  line,  which  would  thus  be 
the  primal  quantitative  sign,  and  historically  was 
the  basis  of  the  earliest  system  of  number-signs. 

Next  came  a  peculiar  transition.  The  Egyp- 
tian, as  is  well  known,  employed  picture-signs  for 
writing,  not  alphabetic  letters  or  sound-signs.  We 
have  to  suppose  that  the  first  number-sign,  the 
line,  was  a  picture,  probably,  of  an  extended 
finger.  But  with  time  the  alphabetic  letter  repre- 
senting a  vocal  sound,  not  a  material  object,  arose 
out  of  the  picture-sign  or  hieroglyphic.  This  sig- 
nificant change  began  already  in  Egypt,  but 
seems  to  have  been  completed  in  Phenicia,  from 
which  country  it  was  transmitted  to  Greece  and 
Rome.  From  these  we  have  received  our  alphabet, 
or  the  system  of  sound-signs.  But  what  concerns 
us  now  is  that  the  old  Greeks  and  Romans  took 
these  letters  or  sound-signs  for  number-signs  also, 
and  we  likewise  still  have   among  us  the  Roman 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ARITHMETIC.     147 

numerals,  employing  them  in  certain  relations.  It 
is  said  that  the  Greeks  had  an  older  system  of 
number-signs,  (called  the  Attic  or  Herodianic)  but 
changed  (about  500  B.  C.)  to  letters  for  numbers. 
This  was  a  strange  step  backward  in  numerical 
evolution,  and  was  probably  the  result  of  inter- 
course with  Oriental  peoples  who  employed  such  a 
system. 

This  Greco-Roman  notation  lasted  into  the 
Middle  Ages,  though  it  stood  in  the  way  of  all 
numerical  progress.  It  was  probably  what  crushed 
the  Greek  in  Arithmetic,  for  which  he  did  so 
little,  and  diverted  his  mathematical  genius  into 
Geometry,  for  which  he  did  so  much.  In  the 
12th  century  the  new  notation,  called  the  Arabic, 
though  it  was  Hindoo  in  origin,  began  to  be  em- 
ployed in  Europe.  Thus  number  possesses  again 
its  distinctive  signs,  different  from  letters:  Arith- 
metic has  its  own  symbolic  language  and  begins  a 
new  career.  The  Arabic  (or  Hindoo)  numerals 
are  endowed  with  a  local  value  in  a  line  of  num- 
bers; the  letter  has  no  such  value,  V  is  five 
wherever  placed,  but  that  is  not  the  case  with  5. 
The  cipher  also  comes  from  India,  being  necessary 
in  such  a  scheme  of  notation.  The  so-called 
Devanagari  numerals  (Hindoo)  are  nearly  those 
which  we  use  to-day  under  the  name  of  Arabic. 
The  medieval  Arabians  in  the  bloom  of  their 
civilization  brought  them  from  the  East  to  the 
West. 


148  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

Thus  we  observe  a  significant  evolution  of  arith- 
metical notation,  from  the  early  picture-signs  of 
numbers  (Egyptian),  through  the  letter-signs  of 
numbers,  (Greek  and  Roman),  to  the  pure  num- 
ber-signs, as  we  know  them  at  present.  In  one 
way  the  last  goes  back  to  the  first  which  was  not 
a  letter-sign,  but  a  special  token  for  a  number, 
though  probably  intended  for  a  picture.  With 
this  new  instrumentality  the  science  of  Arithmetic 
unfolds  into  its  present  state. 

The  development  of  numerical  notation  may  be 
hinted  in  the  following  written  number-forms: 
five,  V,  5.  The  first  is  still  spoken  as  well  as  writ- 
ten; but  the  other  two  are  written  only,  are  sym- 
bols. But  the  last  (5)  is  the  pure  numerical  sym- 
bol, having  gotten  rid  of  its  double  meaning  as 
(V) ;  now  the  free  science  of  number  can  start.  It 
is  set  down  that  the  first  text-book  of  Arithmetic 
proper  known  in  the  Greco-Roman  world  was  by 
Nicomachus,  of  Gerasa,  probably  an  Arabian  with 
Greek  and  Hindoo  culture  (about  100  A.  D.).  His 
work  was  the  arithmetical  authority  in  Europe  for 
a  thousand  years,  indeed  till  the  Arabic  or  Hindoo 
numerary  supplanted  it.  The  first  printed  Arith- 
metic of  the  Renaissance  was  Wagner's  (Bamberg, 
1482).  Simon  Stevin,  of  Bruges,  (1548-1620)  is 
famed  as  the  introducer  of  decimals,  in  which  the 
numerary  is  employed  as  a  whole. 

In  general  the  numerary,  like  man  himself,  has 
to  Hberate  itself  from  its  various  external  shackles, 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ARITHMETIC.       149 

and  to  become  a  free  system  of  number,  which 
deals  with  itself  purely,  unfolds  its  own  forms,  and 
thus  rises  into  a  true  mathematical  science,  which 
we  may  now  look  at  specially. 

3.  The  Scientific  System  of  Number.  This  is 
the  science  of  Arithmetic  as  we  know  it  to-day, 
the  latest  phase  of  the  evolution  of  number  proper. 
It  is  a  form  of  Measure,  or  of  Quantity  turning 
upon  itself  and  measuring  itself.  Number  is  now 
seen  working  with  itself  and  evolving  itself,  com- 
bining and  dividing  itself  milliardfold.  We  may 
say  it  is  measuring  itself,  applying  its  own  forms 
to  itself. 

The  basic  numerical  process  which  Arithmetic 
employs  is  the  numcrary,  the  self-returning  round 
of  digits  or  of  elemental  numbers.  These  with 
zero  are  ten,  hence  they  are  usually  put  together 
as  the  decimal  system.  This  numerary  is  the  cre- 
ative process  of  number  always  going  back  to  the 
beginning  and  moving  through  its  stages,  and 
then  throwing  out  a  new  round  of  itself,  that  is, 
of  ten.  Note  here  again  the  underlying  psychical, 
process  of  unity,  of  separation  or  multipHcity,  and 
then  the  return  to  unity  in  and  through  the  total 
cycle  of  digits.  That  germinal  Process  as  the  im- 
age of  the  Psyche  is  fundamentally  triune ;  but  its 
second  stage,  being  derived  directly  from  external 
Nature  with  her  multiplicity,  is  itself  multiplex, 
not  purely  dual,  and  still  images  the  many  fingers 
of  its  sensuous  origin.    Evidently  this  second  stage 


150  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS.     - 

of  the  arithmetical  numerary  in  its  divisive  char- 
acter corresponds  deeply  with  all  Nature,  which  is 
Hkewise  a  second  stage,  and  infinitely  divided,  and 
divisible.  Hence  it  can  be  and  must  be  num- 
bered, or  measured  by  number.  Here  we  may 
glimpse  the  fact  that  the  Cosmos  is  arithmetical, 
and  Arithmetic  is  cosmical.  The  numbering  of  the 
Universe  is  going  on  everywhere  in  science,  be- 
cause number  is  inherent  in  Nature,  and  must  be 
gotten  out  of  the  same  and  expressed  in  its  own 
numerical  terms. 

Arithmetic  has  had  its  historic  evolution,  start- 
ing far  back  in  the  Orient,  passing  through  an- 
tiquity and  coming  down  to  the  modern  age.  All 
these  periods  have  left  their  impress  upon  the 
science  of  number  as  they  have  upon  its  notation. 
For  example:  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  old 
classic  world  was  not  so  arithmetical  as  the  Orient, 
especially  as  the  Hindoos,  or  as  the  moderns. 
This  deficiency  has  been  ascribed  to  the  lack  of  an 
independent  system  of  number-signs  (like  our 
Arabic  numerals) ;  the  Greeks  and  Romans  used 
letter-signs  for  numbers  which  were  therefore 
always  clogged  with  a  foreign  body  in  their  free 
movement.  The  reason  holds  good;  still  the 
question  comes  up.  Why  did  they  not  relieve  their 
numerical  system  of  its  fetters?  Ultimately  we 
have  to  think  that  it  lay  not  in  their  spirit  to 
evolve  in  that  way.  The  Greek  was  fundamentally 
an  artist  and  was   inclined  to  deal  with  concrete 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— ARITHMETIC,        151 

shapes  rather  than  with  the  abstraction  of  num- 
ber. It  was,  however,  a  Greek,  Pythagoras,  who 
conceived  number  to  be  divine,  making  it  the 
basic  principle  of  the  universe  and  specially  culti- 
vating it  in  his  school.  The  Roman  was  too 
busily  engaged  in  conquering  and  ruling  the  world 
to  develop  much  on  any  scientific  line.  The  class- 
ical scholar  is  well  aware  that  the  numbers,  ex- 
pressed of  course  by  letters,  in  the  Greek  and  Latin 
manuscripts,  are  very  uncertain  and  very  ambig- 
uous. Significant  is  the  fact  that  Geometry,  deal- 
ing with  spatial  forms,  was  the  mathematical 
favorite  of  the  Greeks,  whose  instinctive  form- 
sense  was  deeply  gratified  by  it,  but  was  much 
less  attracted  by  the  blank  abstraction  of  number- 
And  yet  the  Greek  in  philosophy  and  ethics  showed 
a  grantlly  creative  power  of  abstraction,  which, 
however,  he  always  sought  to  embody  anew  in  a 
form  of  its  own. 

The  organized  science  of  Aiithmetic  has  a  chief 
place  in  the  school  for  its  practical  value;  it  also 
must  be  regarded  as  the  child's  first  training  to 
abstraction — an  educative  act  of  the  highest  im- 
portance, through  which  the  individual  repeats  in 
his  own  development  a  pivotal  step  in  the  race's 
progress.  Moreover  Arithmetic  has  its  profound 
psychical  significance  which  can  be  brouglit  home 
to  the  pui)il  by  sympathetic  instruction.  Here  we 
can  give  only  a  meager  outline  of  the  science. 

(a)   The  fundamental  process  of  Arithmetic  lies 


152  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

in  the  three  eariiest  forms  of  it — addition,  sub- 
traction, and  multiplication.  In  these  we  see 
the  simple  unification  of  numbers,  their  integral 
separation,  and  then  their  repeated  unifica- 
tion (often  designated  as  the  performing  of  many 
additions) .  Multiplication  is  plainly  to  be  taken  as 
the  third  or  self-returning  stage  of  the  first  arith- 
metical process.  By  it  number  turns  upon  itself 
and  multiplies  itself  and  also  goes  back  to  addition. 
(6)  The  basic  divisive  or  separative  process  of 
Arithmetic  is  brought  together  in  division,  frac- 
tions, and  decimals.  Division  is  the  separation  of 
a  number  into  parts  of  a  given  size.  It  is  the  re- 
verse of  multiplication  but  something  more.  To 
perform  it  requires  both  multiplication  and  sub- 
traction, and  sometimes  a  form  of  addition.  The 
fraction  proper  makes  division  explicit  by  a  method 
of  notation  which  is  digital,  and  with  such  broken  or 
divided  numbers  all  the  elementary  operations  are 
performed.  But  the  fraction  becomes  systemic  in 
the  decimal,  which  has  ten  (the  decimal  system  as 
a  whole)  for  its  dividing  principle,  or  some  mul- 
tiple of  ten.  The  decimal  system,  accordingly, 
sweeps  back  and  embraces  in  its  process  the  dig- 
ital principle  of  simple  and  fractional  division, 
since  its  denominator  employs  ten  multipHed  by 
one  or  more  tens.  Thus  the  second  or  separative 
stage  of  elementary  Arithmetic  shows  three  forms 
of  division,  the  simple  or  integral,  the  fractional 
and  the  systemic  or  decimal.     Moreover,   it  mani- 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— ARITHMETIC.        153 

fests  a  process  within  itself  which  is  psychical  in 
form,  though  wholly  numerical  in  contents.  The 
text-books  of  Arithmetic  usually  show  these  parts 
by  distinct  heading  and  treatment,  but  indicate 
little  or  no  interconnection. 

(c)  The  third  and  supreme  process  of  Arith- 
metic is  that  in  which  the  individual  number  keeps 
turning  back  upon  itself,  reduplicating  itself  by 
means  of  powers  (in  involution)  ,-deduplicating  it- 
self by  extraction  of  roots  (evolution) ,  an  I  finally  be- 
coming the  power  itself,  the  essence  or  logos  of 
number  ((logarithm).  Multiplication  has  already 
shown  us  any  number  multiplied  by  any  other 
number;  but  involution  insists  upon  the  same 
number  self-involved  or  multiplied  into  itself  a 
number  of  times,  and  "this  number  of  times"  be- 
comes a  new  sort  of  number,  telling  how  many 
involutions.  Evolution  in  Arithmetic  is  the  re- 
versal of  the  preceding  involution;  the  procedure 
undoes  the  power  and  goes  back  to  the  original 
number,  the  starting-point.  Evidently  involution 
and  evolution  are  two  separated  halves  of  a  cycle 
of  the  power  of  numbers;  now  this  power  is  to 
be  seized  upon  and  unfolded  in  the  logarithm, 
which  is  manifestly  the  third  stage  of  the  present 
arithmetical  process,  and  indeed  the  culmination 
of  Arithmetic,  if  it  be  not  already  a  plunge  into 
Algebra.  We  take  the  following  statement  from 
an  honored  mathematician:  "All  numbers  are  con- 
sidered as  the  powers  of  some  single  given  number," 


154  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

which  thus  becomes  the  base  of  a  logarithmic 
sytem.  Moreover,  the  logarithm  of  any  given 
number  is  the  exponent  of  that  power  of  the  base 
which  is  equal  to  the  given  number.  It  is  man- 
ifest that  we  see  here  a  return  to  involution ;  any 
number  by  its  own  self-involution  can  become  any 
other  number.  The  quantity  representing  the  de- 
gree or  amount  of  such  self-involution  is  its  loga- 
rithm. This  may  well  be  deemed  a  common  bond 
interrelating  all  numbers,  and  associating  them  in 
a  new  cognate  tie.  The  question,  however,  arises 
soon  about  the  true  base  of  the  logarithm :  What 
number  is  it?  Very  naturally  ten  was  promptly 
hit  upon,  but  not  by  Napier,  the  discoverer  of  loga- 
rithms (first  published  by  him  in  a  book  of  1614). 
Not  a  single  digit  nor  several  digits,  but  the  whole 
system  itself,  the  total  numerary,  must  be  taken 
as  the  one  best  logarithmic  base,  this  being  the 
genetic  principle  of  all  other  numbers,  as  already 
set  forth.  The  systemic  base  for  logarithms  was 
due  to  Briggs,  a  contemporary  of  Napier,  and  com- 
pleted the  discovery. 

It  is  evident  that  the  logarithm  seizes  upon  the  in- 
volution or  the  self-return  of  number  as  its  essence 
or  deepest  principle.  This  also  brings  to  Hght  its 
psychical  ground,  as  well  as  its  true  place  in  the 
total  arithmetical  process.  The  logarithm  goes 
back  to  the  first  elements  of  the  science  and  makes 
a  new  addition  and  subtraction,  as  well  as  a  new 
multiphcation  and   division.     These  are  all  repro- 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— ARITHMETIC.        155 

duced  in  their  essence  and  enormously  shortened 
by  the  logarithm.  Laplace  said  that  by  means  of 
it  the  astronomer  doubled  his  days.  Through  the 
self-returning  character  inherent  in  it  the  loga- 
rithm seems  to  revolve,  to  image  arithmetically 
the  primordial  motion  of  the  Universe.  The  so- 
called  logarithmic  spiral  is  very  suggestive  not  only 
mathematically  but  also  cosmically.  One  cannot 
help  thinking  of  the  nebular  spirals  of  the  First 
Matter  in  the  genesis  of  Solar  Systems.  In  this 
final  process  of  number  we  had  the  involution 
of  number  (the  power) ,  the  evolution  of  number 
(the  root) ,  and  now  we  may  add  the  revolution  of 
number  (the  logarithm).  So  Arithmetic  may  be 
supposed  to  wind  up  with  showing  us  that  Nature 
thinks  in  numbers  also. 

The  logarithm  very  decidedly  calls  for  Algebra 
which  has  been  named  (by  Newton)  universal 
Arithmetic,  or  Arithmetic  universalized.  Indeed 
the  logarithm  quite  pushes  number  to  its  limit, 
making  it  in  its  whole  system  (by  the  Briggsian 
method)  return  upon  itself  and  measure  itself 
completely  as  number.  Arithmetical  Measure  as 
a  mathematical  science  (the  second  in  our  order- 
ing) has  now  measured  itself  fully  and  thus 
rounded  itself  out.  The  logarithm  has  driven  the 
particular  number  in  all  its  processes  to  universal- 
ize itself,  as  far  as  this  was  possible  with  numer- 
ical notation.  Moreover,  the  logarithm  cannot 
be  adequately  accounted  for  except  through  alge- 


156  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

braic  methods.  It  is  proved  naturally  by  algebra, 
and  thus  has  its  sources  in  the  next  higher  math- 
ematical science,  at  which  we  must  now  cast  a 
hasty  glance. 

III.  Algebra.  The  word  comes  from  the  Ara- 
bic, and  the  curious  fact  about  it  is  that  it  means- 
Uterally,  according  to  the  etymologists,  hone-set- 
ting, a  putting  together  of  broken  and  disjointed 
parts.  Metaphorically  it  came  to  signify  "a  sci- 
ence of  redintegration  and  equation."  This  is, 
then,  the  original  meaning  of  Algebra:  a  restora- 
tion from  a  divided  and  broken-up  condition,  a 
return  out  of  separation,  which  certainly  suggests 
the  place  of  Algebra  in  the  elementary  mathe- 
matical process.  It  follows  Arithmetic  and  in- 
deed evolves  out  of  the  same,  making  it  universal 
(in  Newtonian  phrase)  from  its  previous  numer- 
ical particularity.  For  Arithmetic  compared  to 
Algebra  is  a  special  or  particular  Measure  with  its 
corresponding  number,  which  the  algebraic  symbol 
elevates  into  the  representative  of  all  number. 

Far  better  is  this  conception  of  the  science  than 
that  conveyed  by  the  term  analysis,  which  is  often 
employed  in  European  tongues,  especially  by  pro- 
fessional mathematicians,  to  denote  algebraic  sci- 
ence. This  has,  undoubtedly,  an  analytic  element, 
but  its  deepest  character  is  to  be  a  synthesis,  as 
the  original  Arabic  word  suggests.  De  Morgan, 
the  famous  English  mathematician,  calls  it  ''the 
calculus  of  succession, "  carrying  it   back  to  Time 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ALGEBRA.  157 

as  its  elemental  content.  Such  a  conception  is  in 
line  with '  Hamilton's  designation  of  Algebra  as 
"the  science  of  pure  Time."  This  puts  chief  stress 
upon  its  separative,  analytic  element,  and  would 
make  it,  in  a  psychical  ordering,  the  second  stage 
of  the  present  mathematical  process.  With  such 
a  view,  notwithstanding  its  high  authority,  the 
present  book  cannot  fraternize;  we  beUeve  it, 
moreover,  to  be  contrary  to  Newton's  brief  but 
very  pregnant  definition  of  this  science  as  "uni- 
versal Arithmetic."  As  the  third  part  or  stage  of 
Measure,  accordingly.  Algebra  shows  pure  Quan- 
tity quantified  anew,  but  not  particularly  as  in 
Arithmetic,  but  universally. 

It  is  a  very  suggestive  fact  that  these  three  ele- 
mentary mathematical  sciences  begin  and  develop 
together.  Historically  they  seem  to  start  in  ancient 
Egypt,  which  had  much  use  for  Measure.  An 
Egyptian  papyrus  in  the  Rhind  collection  of  the 
British  Museum,  is  considered  the  oldest  known 
treatise  on  Mathematics.  It  is  written  in  Hier- 
atic, and  its  composition  is  placed  somewhere 
about  2000  B,  C.  But  it  claims  to  be  a  compila- 
tion from  older  documents,  which  may  reach  back 
to  3000  B.  C.  Thus  in  accord  with  the  Egyptian 
mind,  it  has  already  the  authority  of  age.  The  name 
of  the  writer  is  also  handed  down — Ahmes,  seemingly 
the  first  maker  of  a  mathematical  text-book,  whose 
intellectual  progeny  has  certainly  not  become  ex- 
tinct in  the  passing  milleniums.     Now  the  most 


158  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

striking  fact  of  this  Ahmes  papyrus  is  that  it 
contains  all  three  sciences  of  Measure — Geometry, 
Arithmetic,  and  Algebra — in  their  primal  united 
state,  just  beginning  to  get  a  little  differentiated 
apparently.  It  has  the  triangle,  square,  trapezoid 
circle,  with  attempts  at  their  measurement,  which 
introduces  Arithmetic.  Then  in  arithmetical  form 
appears  a  problem  with  an  unknown  quantity, 
which  has  its  symbol  or  representative  called  hau, 
similar  to  our  x.  Other  symbols  are  inti'oduced 
corresponding  to  plus  and  minus,  along  with  the 
sign  of  equality.  Surely  here  is  the  germinal  act 
of  Algebra  tackling  its  basic  problem  of  finding 
the  quantitatively  unknown  from  the  known. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  there  is  some  Algebra 
lurking  in  the  Elements  of  Euclid  (Book  X).  If 
this  be  so  the  illustrious  Greek  geometer  has  in 
his  work  all  three  mathematical  disciplines — Ge- 
ometry, Arithmetic,  and  Algebra.  But  not  till 
Diophantus  of  Alexandria  (died  about  330  A.  D.) 
is  there  any  pronounced  Greek  algebraist.  He  put 
special  stress  upon  the  fact  that  minus  multiplied 
by  minus  gives  plus.  In  the  realm  of  Algebra  he 
beholds  the  negative  negating  itself,  the  thought 
of  which  had  already  been  known  in  Greek  philos- 
ophy. Still  he  l)y  no  means  draws  all  the  conse- 
quences involved  in  the  negative  sign,  and  his  no- 
tation is  very  inadequate. 

The  Hindoos  did  much  for  Algebra,  they  recog- 
nized   negative    and    also    irrational    quantities. 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ALGEBRA.  159 

They  were  also  aware  of  the  double  answer  for 
quadratiQ  equations.  Some  Occidental  writers 
claim  that  ''the  learned  Brahmins  of  Hindostan 
were  the  real  inventors  of  Algebra"  in  its  wide 
modern  sense.  The  Arabians  lay  between  Greece 
and  Hindostan,  and  often  fluctuated  from  one  side 
to  the  other  in  their  mathematical  science  as  in 
other  matters.  Really  they  were  mediators  be- . 
tween  these  two  extreme  branches  of  the  Aryan 
stock,  the  Greek  and  Hindoo,  thus  performing 
what  seems  to  be  a  chief  Semitic  function  in  his- 
tory. An  Arabian  mathematician  of  the  ninth 
centuiy  by  the  name  of  Alchwarizmi  has  trans- 
mitted to  us  the  word  Algebra,  and  was  a  main 
channel  through  which  the  Hindoo  knowledge  of 
this  science  percolated  into  Medieval  Europe. 
The  development,  however,  was  slow.  The  sym- 
bols had,  as  it  were,  to  grow  into  completeness; 
the  Arabians  used  none,  but  they  described  the 
processes,  while  the  Hindoos  and  Greeks  used  a 
few.  A  pivotal  man  in  the  symbolization  of  Al- 
gebra was  the  Frenchman  Vieta  (1540-1603).  He 
made  the  symbolic  use  of  alphabetic  letters  a  per- 
manent possession  of  the  science,  though  others 
before  him  had  employed  them  occasionally  by 
way  of  illustration.  It  was  Descartes,  however, 
who  introduced  the  capital  distinction  between 
the  first  and  last  letters  of  the  alphabet,  making 
the  former  represent  the  known  and  the  latter  the 
unknown  quantities  (in  his  otherwise  epoch-making 


160  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

work  on  Geometry,  1637).  To  Descartes  we  owe 
the  extraordinary  prominence  of-  x  as  the  symbol 
of  an  unknown  quantity,  which,  however,  seems 
to  be  reaching  far  beyond  its  algebraic  limits,  and 
to  be  taken  to  represent  the  Great  Unknown  and 
indeed  the  Unknowable  of  certain  philosophers. 

It  is  of  interest  to  observe  that  every  important 
algebraic  symbol  shows  an  evolution  through  the 
ages,  and  gives  often  some  little  reflection  of  the 
movement  of  civilization  itself.  The  process  of 
the  great  and  greatest  lurks  in  the  small  and 
smallest,  if  it  can  only  be  discerned.  Even  the 
algebraic  exponent  has  its  considerable  history 
and  is  still  engaged  in  a  struggle.  The  evolution 
of  printed  text-books  of  algebra  probably  begins 
with  that  of  Rudolff  in  German  (1525),  and  is 
going  on  at  a  lively  rate  to-day.  But  these  mat- 
ters we  must  drop  here  and  give  a  brief  outline 
of  the  general  content  of  Algebra. 

1.  The  Algebraic  Symbol.  The  first  fact  about 
Algebra  is  that  it  demands  and  develops  a  new 
notation,  different  from  its  arithmetical  source. 
First  of  all,  what  we  mentally  do  in  Arithmetic, 
such  as  adding  and  subtracting,  we  throw  out  of 
us  in  Algebra  into  a  symbol,  such  as  plus  and 
minus.  Thus  what  is  implicit  becomes  explicit,  or 
the  inside  is  turned  outside.  Such  is  a  primal 
psychical  transition  from  Arithmetic  to  Algebra. 
The  subjective  process  is  realized,  manifested,  ob- 
jectifiLd.    To  be  sure  there  exist   various  kinds  of 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— ALGEBRA.  161 

symbols,  but  the  present  kind  is  not  the  artistic 
symbol;  not  the  image  in  which  the  outer  directly 
bespeaks  the  inner.  Rather  is  it  the  sign  whose 
form  says  naught  of  its  meaning,  which,  therefore, 
has  to  be  specially  learned  and  fixed  in  the  mem- 
ory. The  significance  of  the  algebraic  symbol  is 
what  must  be  first  grasped  in  this  new  mathemat- 
ical science.  (On  symbols  generally  see  author's 
Psychology  and  Psychosis  under  the  head  of  the 
Rational  Symbol). 

Moreover,  it  employs  a  system  of  symbols  which 
we  might  call  the  symbolary  of  Algebra,  analo- 
gous to  the  numerar}^  of  Arithmetic  and  the  fig- 
urary  of  Geometry.  Each  of  these  sciences  has 
its  own  system  of  signs  (say  a  signary)  by  means 
of  which  its  procedure  takes  place.  The  alge- 
braic symbolary  is  composed  of  (a)  alphabetic 
letters  as  the  universal  signs  of  particular  quanti- 
ties. This  may  be  deemed  a  return  to  the  letter 
used  for  quantity,  not  as  particular  but  as  uni- 
versal; for  instance  the  letter  X  does  not  now 
mean  ten  but  any  number.  To  the  letters  must  be 
added  a  second  set  of  symbols  (6)  which  indicate 
arithmetical  processes  by  outer  signs,  such  as 
plus  and  minus.  The  culmination  is  (c)  the  sign 
of  the  equation,  which  takes  two  different  alge- 
braic quantities  and  declares  their  equality,  the 
chief  purpose  being  to  find  the  unknown  from  the 
known  quantity.    The    equation    gives   the  entire 

algebraic   process,  starting    with    its    symbolized 

11 


162  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

quantities  which  separate  into  two  opposite  kinds, 
unknown  and  known,  constituting  the  stage  of 
separation.  The  algebraic  act,  however,  reduces 
this  two  to  one,  it  finds  the  value  of  x,  it  makes 
the  unknown  a  known,  so  that  the  original  sepa- 
ration between  known  and  unknown  no  longer 
exists.  All  Algebra  turns  on  the  equation  as  its 
pivotal  process;  in  fact  it  becomes  in  itself  as  a 
whole  a  symbol  of  science,  whose  chief  function  is 
to  unfold  the  known  out  of  the  unknown.  The 
equation  gets  expHcit  in  Algebra,  we  may  say, 
although  it  lies  in  the  very  first  proposition  of 
Geometry;  but  it  is  there  not  universally  symbol- 
ized. The  arithmetical  process  also  is  for  the 
most  part  an  equation  not  yet  fully  equated. 
From  this  point  of  view  we  can  see  that  the  alge- 
braic equation  expresses  universally  in  its  symbols 
the  mathematical  process  in  all  its  forms— geo- 
metrical, arithmetical,  as  well  as  algebraic.  But 
in  order  to  do  this  completely,  the  symbol  must 
conjoin  with  itself  the  number. 

2.  The  Algebraic  Symbol  Numbered.  As  the 
symbols  of  Algebra  become  many  or  numerous, 
they  cannot  exclude  number  from  their  process 
as  universal;  if  they  did  it  would  not  be  universal. 
So  Algebra  takes  up  Arithmetic  into  itself,  the 
symbolary  unites  with  itself  the  numeraiy,  and 
there  results  a  kind  of  dual  mathematical  science. 
The  conjunction  of  the  symbol  and  number  may 
be   (a)    immediate,  composed    of  both  equally,  as 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ALGEBRA.  163 

we  see  in  2x  for  instance.  But  the  deeper  fact  is 
that  Algebra  takes  up  into  itself  and  employs  in 
all  their  potency  the  several  arithmetical  processes 
(6), such  as  the  additive,  the  divisive,  and  the  frac- 
tional. But  when  it  comes  to  the  extraction  of 
roots  (c),  the  arithmetical  process  stops,  and  can 
only  be  symbolized  algebraically  (for  instance  the 
square  root  of  minus  four).  Evidently  now  the 
symbol  wholly  determines  the  number,  while  in 
the   previous   stage    each    retained   its    own    dis- 

"  tinct  validity.  Aiithmetic,  therefore,  in  its  pecu- 
liar field,  that  of  number,  runs  upon  its  limit  in 
getting  the  root  of  certain  quantities,  that  is,  in 
returning  to  its  numerical  source.  In  order  to  ac- 
complish such  return,  Arithmetic  has  to  appeal  to 
Algebra,  which,    as    universal    can  overcome  the 

,  arithmetical  limit  by  its  symbol.  And  in  the 
logarithm,  Arithmetic  is  hardly  able  to  prove  its 
own  process,  but  looks  to  Algebra  for  its  complete 
justification. 

Likewise  in  Geometry  arithmetical  proof  is 
single,  special,  not  universal,  and  so  has  to  reach 
out  to   algebraic  proof  for   final  anchorage.     For 

"instance  the  Pythagorean  geometrical  theorem  is 
easily  provable  by  arithmetic,  if  the  sides  of  the 
triangle  arc    respectively  3,  4,  and  5;  in  fact  this 

•proof  was  probably  laiown  to  the  old  Egyptians 
(see  preceding  ]).  124) ;  but  such  proof  is  of  course 
particular,  not  universal.  Now  when  the  alge- 
braic symbols  with  their  explicit   equation  are  in- 


164  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

troduced  to  express  this  theorem  (for  instance,  a 
square  plus  b  square  equals  c  square)  we  behold 
not  only  the  arithmetical  statement,  but  Geom- 
etry itself,  unversalized  in  Algebra.  This  brings 
us  into  a  new  phase  of  algebraic  development — 
the  geometric.  In  this  connection  may  be  cited 
the  statement  of  a  distinguished  mathematician: 
''All  possible  triangles,  plane  and  spherical,  and 
all  their  properties  are  expressed  in  the  single 
equation  r  =  pq" — which  statement  shows  the 
geometric  turned  algebraic.  The  triangle  with  its 
three  self-returning  lines  may  be  deemed  the  pri- 
mal complete  quantification  of  space,  hence  of 
all  Nature,  though  it  presupposes  the  single 
line  as  quantum.  The  first  whole  figure  of  Geom- 
etry, in  the  foregoing  equation,  goes  over  into 
an  algebraic  formula,  which  indicates  a  new 
sphere. 

3.  The  Algebra  of  Geometry.  In  the  present 
stage  we  find  Algebra  going  back  to  Geometry, 
taking  up  the  same  into  itself  and  symbolizing 
it  anew.  Thus  this  whole  sphere  might  be  called 
geometric  Algebra,  as  the  preceding  one  was  dom- 
inantly  an  arithmetical  Algebra.  Plainly  our 
mathematical  science  in  and  through  Algebra  re- 
turns upon  itself,  taking  up  its  first  form  which 
was  Geometry,  and  therein  completing  its  mathe- 
matical (and  also  its  psychical)  round.  This  return 
of  Algebra  to  Geometry  is,  in  general,  the  finish- 
ing act  of  the  process  of  elementary  Mathematics 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ALGEBRA.  165 

(Geometry,  Arithmetic,  Algebra),  the  Psychosis  of 
these 'three  sciences. 

This  resumption  of  Geometry  into  Algebra  takes 
place  in  different  ways,  of  which  we  may  note  the 
following: 

(a)  There  is  the  immediate  transformation  of  a 
geometric  theorem  into  an  algebraic  equation,  an 
example  of  which  has  been  already  given  in  the 
Pythagorean  theorem.  (6)  Far  deeper  and  com- 
pleter is  the  algebraizing  of  Geometry  in  what  is 
known  as  Analytical  Geometry,  chiefly  through 
the  so-called  co-ordinate,  which,  starting  as  a  hne, 
becomes  a  kind  of  bridge  over  from  geometrical  to 
algebraic  processes.  This  was  one  of  the  greatest 
as  well  as  most  lasting  mathematical  deeds  of 
Descartes  (first  pubHshed  in  his  Geometiy  of 
1637).  Here  can  be  repeated  the  statement  that 
the  Hne  as  the  first  limitation  of  Space  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  first  mathematical  quantity,  and  as 
the  primordial  source  not  only  of  Geometry,  but 
of  all  the  sciences  of  Measure  or  of  Mathemat- 
ics. So  Algebra  universalizes  Geometry,  as  it  does 
Arithmetic  also.  But  the  curious  fact  springs  up 
before  the  psychical  student  that  it  has  gotten 
back  to  itself,  and  we  observe  Algebra  in  a  manner 
trying  to  universalize  itself,  already  supposed  to  be 
the  great  universahzer  of  finite  quantities  or  forms 
of  Measure  (c).  The  Calculus  we  may,  in  general, 
call  this  highest  sphere  of  Algebra  and  indeed  of 
all  Mathematics.     From  good  authority  we  learn 


166  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

that  the  Calculus  as  a  whole  treats  of  a  "great  va- 
riety of  problems  by  means  of  some  system  of 
algebraic  notation."  There  are  many  kinds  of 
Calculus,  yea,  many  kinds  of  algebraic  sym- 
bolization.  The  start  was  made  by  Leibniz  in 
his  differential  Calculus,  very  similar  to  New- 
ton's Fluxions;  indeed  both  these  great  math- 
ematicians evolved  the  same  science  about  the 
same  time,  and  their  friends  have  disputed  over 
the  question  of  priority  ever  since.  From  this 
beginning  the  Calculus  has  unfolded  into  many 
other  forms,  and  its  present  condition  seems  to  be 
that  of  variety,  separation,  almost  disorganization — 
the  whole  of  it  lying  around  rather  loosely  in  discon- 
nected parts.  It  would  appear  that  the  mathemat- 
ical genius  has  not  yet  arisen  who  can  bring  together 
into  an  organic  totality  its  manifold  disjointed 
portions.  Psychically  significant  is  the  so-called 
Calculus  of  Operations,  which  is  "the  general 
method  of  treating  quantities  by  operating  alge- 
braically upon  the  symbols  of  operation."  \^ery 
suggestive  is  such  a  statement ;  it  seems  to  indi- 
cate that  the  Calculus  may  yet  develop  its  own 
symbolary,  or  the  symbolary  of  all  symbolaries, 
including  doubtless  the  algebraic.  At  any  rate 
•  Algebra  on  this  side  leads  up  into  the  sphere 
known  as  the  Higher  Mathematics,  which  must  be 
deemed  to  be  still  in  a  state  of  active  evolution. 

We  may,  then,  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  universal 
science  of  Mathematics,  to  which  Algebra,  as  uni- 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS— ALGEBRA.  167 

versal  Arithmetic  and  Geometry,  is  leading.  At 
the  same  time  the  Calculus  as  the  science  of  Meas- 
ure pushed  to  the  highest,  is  driven  to  grapple 
with  the  Infinite,  which  it,  if  it  be  truly  uni- 
versal, must  also  measure.  The  struggle  between 
the  limited  and  the  unlimited  in  Quantity  is 
strongly  shown  by  the  so-called  infinite  series, 
which  is  not  infinite,  but  rather  an  infinite  strain- 
ing for  the  same.  Can  the  unlimited  be  measured 
by  the  limited?  It  must,  but  cannot.  So  is  laid 
bare  the  contradiction  inherent  in  Measure  or 
Mathematics,  in  all  Quantity,  yea  in  all  Nature — a 
striving  to  be  what  it  cannot,  and  if  it  could,  it 
would  not  beat  all.  Mathematics  as  the  science 
of  Measure  or  the  return  of  Quantity  upon  itself 
breaks  down  in  the  series,  which  will  no  longer 
allow  such  return,  and  so  will  not  suffer  Measure. 
This  is  only  saying  that  Quantity  is  not  the  com- 
pletely self-returui]ig  Ego  or  Consciousness,  but  is 
pushing  for  the  same  as  its  supreme  end.  More- 
over the  infinitely  small  is  said  to  be  neghgible  in 
Mathematics,  but  in  thought  it  cannot  be  jumped 
over,  being  infinite.  And  this  is  not  the  sole  diffi- 
culty here ;  the  infinitely  small  cannot  be  smaller, 
and  thus  is  a  magnitude  which  cannot  be  diminished, 
and  which  therein  denies  its  own  definition  as 
"that  which  can-  be  increased  or  diminished."  The 
same  contradiction  rises  in  the  conception  of  a 
magnitude  which  is  infinitely  large.  Evidently 
Magnitude,  Measure,  Quantity,  have  now  reached 


168  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

the  point  at  which  they  show  their  inner  dialec- 
tical character  in  a  final  self-undoing.  Therein 
the  elemental  Cosmos  has  evidently  reached  its 
limit;  it  has  attempted  to  measure  the  infinite 
and  cannot,  the  incommensurable  is  just  what  it 
has  found  and  of  course  recoils  from.  Measure 
can  only  measure  the  Cosmos  as  finite  or  partic- 
ularized, and  proceeds  at  once  to  do  that — which 
statement  suggests  the  content  of  our  coming 
Chapter. 

We  are  to  see,  therefore,  that  Motion,  Matter, 
and  Measure  as  cosmical  run  upon  a  breach  be- 
tween the  limited  and  the  unlimited,  which  breach 
lies  in  the  Cosmos  itself,  is  indeed  the  ground  of 
what  we  have  so  often  called  its  Dialectic.  The 
inherent  duaUsm  of  Motion  was  long  since  de- 
clared by  ancient  Zeno,  as  already  stated.  Matter 
cannot  help  reaching  down  to  the  atom  with  its 
dual  character  of  division  and  indivisibility,  bring- 
ing to  the  surface  also  the  contradiction  between 
the  material  and  immaterial,  or  between  the  sensi- 
sible  and  the  supersensible.  And  now  we  have 
seen  Measure  advancing  to  the  chasm  between  the 
measured  and  the  immeasurable — at  which  point 
it  of  necessity  turns  back  and  measures  what  it 
can — the  limited  realm  of  Motion  and  Matter,  or 
the  particularized  Cosmos. 

So  the  world,  or  what  we  usually  call  such,  is 
now  to  be  investigated,  tested,  quantified,  giving 
birth  to  a  very  important  part  of  the  science  of 


ELEMENTAL  COSMOS  — ALGEBRA.  169 

Mechanics.  We  may  look  back  to  its  be- 
ginning in  Space,  which  contains  the  primal 
quantity,  a  simple  line,  and  this  hne  can  be  un- 
folded into  the  primal  geometric  quantity,  a  tri- 
angle, which  is  the  first  linear  self-return.  Thus 
Nature  commences  to  be  measured,  in  which  work 
Science  is  still  deeply  engaged.  Over  and  over 
again  we  have  enforced  the  thought  that  Nature 
herself  is  quantitative,  that  Quantity  is  a  part  or 
stage  of  the  Cosmos,  that  Measure  is  what  may  be 
called  a  Natural  Science  in  the  wide  sense  of  the 
term.  It  is  true  that  philosophers  have  disputed 
about  the  place  of  Mathematics  in  a  System  of  the 
Universe.  We  can  see,  however,  that  there  can 
be  no  Measure  till  the  Separated  (Nature)  has  ap- 
peared, bringing  with  it  inherently  the  problem  of 
the  How-much  (Quantitas),  out  of  which  Mathe- 
matics develop. 

Repeatedly  in  the  preceding  exposition  allusion 
has  been  made  to  the  particular  sense-world,  from 
which  indeed  Measure  is  evolved  and  abstracted, 
thus  becoming  the  science  of  pure  Mathematics. 
Into  the  foreground  is  now  to  be  drawn  this  realm 
of  Nature,  particular,  corporeal,  full  of  conflicts, 
with  the  search  for  its  law  and  its  orio;in. 


170  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

CHAPTER  SECOND. 

THE  PARTICULARIZED  COSMOS. 

We  are  entering  the  distinctive  realm  of  New- 
ton, and  so  we  may  imagine  ourselves  lying  under 
his  famous  apple-tree  and  seeing  the  apple  fall 
again.  We  note  specially  the  two  bodies,  the 
earth  and  the  apple,  though  there  are  many  other ' 
bodies  around  us.  Newton  accepted  the  two  as 
given,  he  seemed  not  to  ask  how  they  became  two, 
or  whence  arose  the  vast  diversity  of  bodies.  He 
took  the  immediat  3  phenomenon  before  him,  but  in 
it  he  glimpsed  a  universal  act  of  Nature,  extend- 
ing it  to  the  moon  and  sun  and  planets.  All  sep- 
arate bodies  are  drawing  one  another  into  a  com- 
mon center,  striving  to  overcome  their  separation; 
but  whence  this  original  separation?  The  question 
undoubtedly  occurred  to  Newton,  but  he  dismissed  it 
and  its  Uke  curtly  with  a  wave  of  the  hand:  Non 
jingo  hypotheses.  He  had  enough  to  do  in  dealing 
with  the  given  phenomenal  world  and  discovering 
its  laws,  or  the  universal  ways  in  which  it  acts. 
That  is,  the  corporeal  particularized  Cosmos  was 
his  particular  field,  in  deepest  rapport  with  his 
genius.  Newton's  soul  we  may  think,  was  one 
with  Nature's  soul  just  in  her  present  stage,  not 
so  much  in  her  previous  elemental  stage.  To  be 
sure,  he  distinguished  absolute  Time,  Space,  and 


THE  PARTICULARIZED  COSMOS.  171 

Motion,  from  relative  Time,  Space,  and  Motion 
(see  first  scholium  of  the  Principia) ;  but  really  he 
turned  from  the  hoary  primeval  shapes  of  the  ele- 
mental Cosmos,  to  the  more  tractable  finite  forms 
of  what  we  here  call  the  Particularized  Cosmos . 

We  have  now  to  take  a  new  large  step  in  the  Sci- 
ence of  Nature,  constituting  a  very  significant 
transition — ^the  Cosmos  incorporating  itself  in  ma- 
terial bodies.  Scattered  throughout  the  physical 
universe  wo  observe  these  bodies,  from  the  smallest 
particle  to  the  vast  suns  and  the  vaster  nebulae  of 
the  cosmical  spaces — how  did  they  get  to  be? 
First  in  order  let  us  note  that  they  are  separated — 
trebly  separated — from  one  another,  in  themselves 
atomically,  and  from  the  All  of  which  they  are  in- 
deed parts,  but  disjoined  parts,  each  having  its 
own  distinct  individuality,  so  to  speak.  We  should 
mark  with  strong  mental  emphasis  this  primal 
separation,  as  if  the  one  original  totality  of  the 
Cosmos  had  been  split  up  or  exploded  by  a  uni- 
versal convulsion  into  fragments  which  are  still 
seen  in  the  least  and  in  the  largest  floating  through 
the  celestial  regions.  At  present  it  is  these  frag- 
ments of  the  primeval  separation  which  are  to  be 
considered,  and  which,  taken  together,  we  call  the 
Particularized  Cosmos,  that  is,  the  Cosmos  reduced 
to  parts  and  particles,  dividend  into  bodies — other- 
wise the  Cosmos  incorporate. 

In  the  previous  Chapter,  which  dealt  with  the 
Elemental  Cosmos,  these  bodies  were  not  yet  born, 


172  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS, 

the  convulsion  had  not  yet  taken  place,  if  we  may 
so  conceive  it.  There  we  dealt  with  Motion,  Mat- 
ter, and  Measure  as  not  yet  incorporate,  but  rather 
as  ideal  and  speculative,  though  their  existence 
was  not  denied.  The  elements  of  the  Cosmos  are 
universal  and  underlie  all  Nature;  they  constitute 
her  original  creative  thought  which  the  explorer 
of  her  depths  has  to  re-think,  and,  as  it  were,  re- 
create in  his  own  mind.  Motion,  Matter  and 
Measure  have  a  decided  supersensible  strain  in 
them,  which  is  now  to  become  sensible  in  the  cor- 
poreal or  particularized  Cosmos.  Here  is  the  point 
at  which  the  scientist  ordinarily  begins;  he  starts 
with  the  sensible  object  upon  which  he  makes  his 
experiments,  leaving  Space,  Time,  Motion,  Matter, 
and  Quantity,  as  original  and  elemental,  to  the 
metaphysician.  But  certainly  the  two  sides  or 
rather  the  two  stages  of  Nature  cannot  be  torn 
asunder  without  injury  to  both.  Now  we  are  to 
see  the  universal  ideal  element  of  Nature  becom- 
ing particularized,  real,  embodied,  accessible  di- 
rectly to  the  senses,  at  least  in  its  finite  relations. 
Indeed  the  finite  world  of  Motion  and  Matter  with 
their  special  measurements  appears,  revealing  itself 
in  phenomena  with  which  physical  science  first 
grapples. 

A  necessary  consequence  of  such  a  world  of  par- 
ticular bodies  moving  and  at  rest  (relatively)  is 
their  collision.  They  are  in  a  mighty  struggle  and 
cannot    help  josthng  one  another.     They   belong 


THE  PARTICULARIZED  COSMOS.  173 

together  and  are  striving  to  be  one,  for  in- 
stance by  attraction ;  still  they  are  separated  and 
must  remain  so  in  order  to  be.  Hence  their  push 
for  unity  is  always  whelming  them  into  conflict; 
the  attraction  is  met  with  repulsion.  A  stone 
tossed  from  the  hand  seeks  oneness  with  the 
earth,  but  collides  with  the  same  at  their  corpo- 
real limits.  Here  is  their  original  line  of  separa- 
tion which  they  cannot  directly  overcome.  Both 
stone  and  earth  we  may  conceive  to  be  fragments 
of  that  primeval,  age-long,  ever-continuing  ex- 
plosion of  the  AH,  which  begot  them  as  distinct 
individual  bodies.  They  show  themselves  still  to 
be  parts  of  the  one  universe  by  gravitating  to- 
wards each  other  without  cessation,  and  yet  they 
cannot  get  rid  of  that  explosion  which  separated 
them,  making  them  particular  bodies.  Thus  we 
behold  a  colliding  Cosmos  in  sharp  contrast  with 
the  elemental  Cosmos  from  which  it  has  issued. 
Motion  and  Matter  are  changed  from  their  abso- 
lute aspect  and  finitized  in  special  forms,  which, 
being  measured  in  their  finite  relations,  are 
brought  into  the  fold  of  science . 

The  observation  of  the  particularized  Cosmos  as 
colHding  is  largely  confined  to  the  earth.  We  may 
well  suppose  that  there  must  be  attraction  and 
repulsion  with  the  impact  of  bodies  on  the  other 
planets.  Thus  each  of  them  becomes  a  center  of 
the  clashing  of  Matter  similar  to  what  we  see  be- 
fore us.     How  heavy  a  terrestrial   body  of  a  cer- 


174  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tain  weight  would  be  on  small  Venus  and  on  large 
Jupiter  has  been  often  calculated.  But  it  cannot 
be  weighed  directly  by  us  except  upon  our  own 
planetary  surface.  So  the  Cosmos  now  turns 
earthward  and  becomes  a  scene  of  conflict;  bodies 
push,  collide,  fall  together  in  a  crash.  We  shall 
see  later  (in  the  Systemic  Cosmos)  that  bodies  of 
the  Solar  System  with  their  circular  movement 
have  the  tendency  to  avoid  collision;  they  do  not 
impinge  upon  their  central  sun,  nor  upon  one 
another;  the  terrestrial  conflicts  seem  to  be  har- 
monized in  the  celestial  order.  Aerohtes  are  de- 
clared to  fall  into  the  sun.  and  a  planet  may  now 
and  then  have  to  plow  through  the  tail  of  a  comet; 
still  on  the  whole  the  arena  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
is  not  one  of  strife  but  of  harmony — the  ancient 
much-sung  harmony  of  the  spheres.  On  the  other 
hand  the  terrestrial  or  perchance  the  planetary 
Cosmos  is  the  scene  of  infinite  collisions  between 
material  forms,  which  drive  against  one  another 
more  or  less  directly;  their  motion  is  generally 
interfered  with  and  is  not  rounded  out  into  the 
self-returning  circle,  as  we  observe  everywhere  in 
the  free  intermundane  spaces.  Such  a  colliding 
character  belongs  to  the  present  stage  of  the  Cos- 
mos as  particularized  into  a  vast  hurly-burly  of 
struggling  bodies,  each  striving  to  get  to  the 
center,  and  elbowing  its  neighbors  out  of  the  way. 
We  are,  however,  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the 
Cosmos  as  such  has  now  gotten  body  or  rather 


THE  PARTICULARIZED  COSMOS.  175 

many  bodies — the  grand  manifestation  of  its  sepa- 
rative stage.  The  elemental  Cosmos  is  not  yet 
incorporate,  at  least  not  to  the  human  senses;  if 
there  is  a  material  ether  filling  all  Space,  it  is  not 
directly  apparent  to  us.  This  getting  of  body  will 
persist  through  the  entire  development  of  Nature 
to  the  end.  AVe  shall  have  to  deal  with  body  not 
only  in  the  rest  of  the  Cosmos,  but  in  the  Dia- 
cosmos  having  its  radiant  body,  and  in  the  Biocos- 
mos  which  has  as  its  center  the  living,  self-moving 
body.  Great  is  this  incorporation  of  the  Cosmos 
truly  sprung  of  the  All,  which  therein  gets  mani- 
fested and  has  reality.  To  be  sure  these  bodies 
are  born  in  a  struggle  and  reveal  a  vast  conflict  of 
forces  which  man  is  to  master  and  to  direct  to  his 
purpose  when  he  finds  their  law. 

And  now  we  are  to  search  for  the  order,  yea  the 
process  in  this  realm  of  manifold  collisions-  be- 
tween moving  bodies.  On  the  outside  it  looks 
i-ather  chaotic,  as  if  it  might  be  governed  by  ac- 
cident; but  we  shall  find  that  it  has  its  laws,  under 
whose  power  it  has  to  act.  From  this  point  of 
\\vw  the  particularized  Cosmos  with  its  struggling 
fragments  fixed  in  the  clamps  of  law  seems  the 
si)here  of  iron  necessity;  and  such  it  is  when  taken 
simply  by  itself.  But  when  the  present  stage  of  the 
Cosmos  is  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  greater  totality 
of  Nature,  which  in  its  turn  is  a  stage  of  the  All- 
Self,  we  begin  to  catch  a  gleam  of  the  physical 
world  in  all  its  manifestations  as  part  of  the  pro- 


176  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

cess  of  the  free  Universe.  For  the  Universe  is  the 
absolutely  free  entity,  which  can  have  nothing 
outside  of  itself  to  determine  itself.  Its  free  pro- 
cess is  psychical,  that  of  the  Pampsychosis,  as  we 
have  often  called  it,  and  is  the  inner  process  order- 
ing all  the  parts  of  the  Universe,  since  each  part 
must  have  the  process  of  the  whole.  So  now  in 
this  particularized  Cosmos  we  ask  for  the  process 
which  orders  it  inherently  and  at  the  same  time 
integrates  it  harmoniously  with  the  All. 

We  shall  observe  in  this  stage  of  the  Cosmos 
many  laws  formulated  and  verified  from  the  \)\\v- 
nomena.  There  is  the  law  of  falling  bodies,  of  the 
oscillating  pendulum,  and  the  so-called  laws  of 
Motion.  All  of  these  are  to  be  taken  into  account, 
but  the  chief  difficulty  with  them  is  that  they, 
too,  lie  scattered  over  the  field  without  any  inner 
bond  of  union.  They  become  almost  as  discon- 
nected as  the  phenomena.  So  the  multiphcity  of 
laws  is  to  be  put  into  order  along  with  the  sensu- 
ous facts  which  they  correlate.  And  we  may  re- 
peat that  this  order  must  be  psychical,  suggesting 
its  origin,  and  showing  in  its  process  the  impress 
of  the  supernal  source.  Accordingly  the  Particu- 
larized Cosmos  or  Nature  incorporate  is  to  be  seen 
fundamentally  in  a  threefold  process  whose  stages 
we  may  set  down  in  advance  as  follows : 

(I)  The  Moving  Body— which  suggests  the  im- 
mediate coalescence  of  Motion  and  Matter  in  one 
phenomenon.     The  primal  stage. 


THE  PARTICULARIZED  COSMOS.  177 

(II)  The  Impinging  Body — which  shows  the 
moving  Body  in  conflict  with  its  like.  The  stage 
of  separation  and  strife. 

(III)  The  Gravitating  Body — which  manifests 
the  striving  of  the  moving  Body  to  return  to  unity 
with  the  earth  and  all  Matter,  the  seeking  to 
overcome  the  separation,  without  success,  how- 
ever. For  the  Gravitating  Body,  pushing  for  the 
terrestrial  center,  impinges  on  the  earth's  surface 
and  so  drops  back  into  impact. 

The  Moving  Body  is,  therefore,  the  starting- 
point  of  the  present  sphere;  it  is  taken  for  granted, 
is  something  already  created  and  is  manifesting 
itself  in  the  Particularized  Cosmos,  though  its 
primal  origin  may  be  traced  in  the  previous  (ele- 
mental) Cosmos.  But  we  shall  now  see  it  evolv- 
ing until  it  gets  to  rotating  and  throwing  off 
forms  of  itself,  that  is,  new  individualized  bodies 
in  Motion.  Thus  we  may  say  that  it  comes  back 
to  its  own  beginning  and  starts  to  reproducing 
itself — which  completes  its  cycle. 

In  the  three  foregoing  stages  the  attentive  reader 
will  be  able  to  trace  what  we  call  a  psychosis — 
especially  the  psychosis  of  the  Particularized  Cos- 
mos, which  we  are  now  to  unfold  more  fully  and 
to  set  forth  in  its  concrete  content.  The  theme  of 
this  Chapter  might  be  called  Matter  moving,  or 
Motion  materialized;  the  two  cosmical  elements, 
Motion  and  Matter,  are  joined  together  in  a  kind 
of  struggle  for  supremacy  till  Motion  gets  control 


178  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

of  Matter  and  whirls  it  in  a  circular  orbit — where- 
with the  present  stage  passes  over  into  the  next. 


The  Moving  Body. 

What  is  more  common  than  to  see  a  body  in 
motion,  and  to  feel  it  and  also  to  hear  it?  A  very 
trite  phenomenon  for  our  senses  is  such  an  object; 
still  it  is  the  combination  and  co-operation  of  the 
two  primordial  and  elemental  principles  of  Nature 
— Motion  and  Matter.  These  we  have  already 
seen  as  stages  in  the  same  cosmical  process,  and 
yet  opposites  also.  Hitherto  they  have  been  held 
apart  and  looked  at  in  themselves  with  their  vari- 
ous characteristics.  But  now  they  are  conjoined 
in  one  phenomenon,  though  still  dual  and  even 
antagonistic.  The  moving  Body  is  of  course  not 
pure. Motion  nor  pure  Matter;  it  is  Motion  limited 
and  particularized  in  Matter,  and  Matter  limited 
and  particularized  in  Motion;  each  puts  a  bound 
upon  the  other  and  compels  it  to  be  real,  finite, 
even  sensuous.  The  Moving  Body  we  call  it, 
though  we  shall  also  take  it  at  rest. 

Now  this  ]\Ioving  Body  in  its  dual  character  ex- 
ercised a  wonderful  fascination  over  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  with  whose  soul  it  had  some  strange  com- 
pelling affinity.  His  great  work  (the  Prindpia)  is 
properly  a  treatise  on  the  Moving  Body ;  or  as  he 
designates  it,  On  the  Motion  of  Bodies.     His  stress. 


THE  MOVING  BODY.  179 

however,  is  directed  to  measurement,  or  to  the 
mathehiatics  of  the  moving  Body.  The  Measure 
of  the  Motion  of  Matter  is  what  evokes  his  genius. 
Let  the  reader  note  in  this  statement  the  three 
elemental  principles  of  the  Cosmos  united. 

Says  Newton:  ''Geometry  is  founded  in  mechan- 
ical practice,  and  is  nothing  but  that  part  of  uni- 
versal mechanics  which  accurately  proposes  and 
demonstrates  the  art  of  measuring"  {Pref.  ad 
Prin.).  Geometry  is,  therefore,  the  first  branch  ot 
Mathematics,  or  of  Measure.  Another  passage  runs: 
•'All  the  difficulty  of  philosophy  seems  to  consist 
in  this — from  the  phenomena  of  Motions  to  inves- 
tigate the  forces  of  Nature,  and  then  from  these 
forces  to  demonstrate  the  other  phenomena." 
Newton  evidently  means  here  by  philosophy  a 
science  of  Nature,  which  with  him  is  almost  wholly 
mechanical  and  cosmical.  It  is  plain,  too,  that 
Motion,  or  rather  the  Motion  of  Matter,  was  the 
central  phenomenon  from  which  he  was  to  extract 
his  philosophy.  This  he  did  chiefly  by  means  of 
geometric  construction  which  is  seen  everywhere 
in  the  Principia^ 

On  the  subject  of  the  Moving  Body  Newton 
starts  out  with  three  axioms,  which  he  calls  the 
laws  of  Motion.  The  first  word  (axiom)  is  the  best 
for  designating  them,  as  they  are  immediate  in- 
sights into  the  fundamental  character  of  the  thing, 
and  not  the  result  of  proof.  Moreover  these 
"Laws  of  Motion"  pertain  to  the  Moving  Body,  as 


180  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

is  seen  in  the  two  words  {onine  corpus)  which 
begin  the  first  law.  It  may  be  said  that  these 
three  laws  of  Motion  have  dominated  the  present 
field  of  physical  science  since  their  enunciation  (in 
the  Principia) .  They  are  very  simple  in  form,  quite 
self-evident,  though  they  are  subtle  and  pervasive, 
and  seem  to  grow  in  significance  as  the  physicist 
grows  in  knowledge. 

The  leading  interest  perhaps  is  to  see  the  first 
phenomenon  of  Nature — the  Moving  Body,  or  the 
Motion  of  Matter — grappled  with  and  reduced  to 
order.  Moreover  the  phenomena  of  Motion  are 
very  diverse ;  but  here  they  arc  simplified  and  uni- 
fied in  what  we  see  to  be  a  single  process,  though 
this  was  a  phase  of  the  subject  seemingly  not  rec- 
ognized by  Newton.  For  they  are  not  merely 
three  isolated  truths  or  axioms  about  Motion,  but 
they  belong  together  and  form  one  process,  as  we 
shall  see. 

It  is  well  at  this  point  to  recall  elemental  Motion, 
the  Separating  of  the  Cosmos,  which  has  now  be- 
come embodied,  and  which  in  this  stage  is  organ- 
ized with  all  its  outer  diversity  into  inner  law,  or 
rather  into  the  process  of  three  laws.  These  are 
to  be  seen  next  in  their  application  to  concrete  ob- 
jects and  to  special  cases.  But  they  also  reach 
backward  to  deeper-lying  categories,  and  processes, 
such  as  Space,  Time,  Quantity.  One  may  well 
ask  of  Newton,  \^Tience  comes  that  pivotal  word 
of  his  {corpus)  or  its  concept?    He  picks  it  up  as 


THE  MOVING  BODY  181 

it  were,  and  starts  to  find  its  law  when  moving, 
and  a'lso  to  measure  this  Motion  of  Matter.  But 
the  questions:  What  is  this  Motion  and  Whence — 
What  is  this  Matter  and  AVhence — What  is  this 
Measure  and  AMience — did  not  take  hold  of  him 
strongly,  though  he  glances  at  them  now  and  then. 
Nor  did  it  lie  in  the  consciousness  of  his  time  to 
work  back  into  such  speculative  or  elemental  pre- 
suppositions of  Nature.  Newton's  century  in  sci- 
ence was  essentially  mechanical,  not  chemical, 
not  biological.  Of  this  scientific  spirit  he  was 
doubtless  the  culmination,  which  is  seen  specially 
in  his  power  over  Measure,  or  in  his  genius  for 
Mathematics,  the  mathematical  being  Nature's 
ideal  machine,  or  the  machine  of  all  machines, 
which  seems  always  to  be  running  of  itself  in  the 
Newtonian  brain.  The  physical  determinations  of 
Nature  were  but  a  transparent  shell  through 
which  he  saw  the  universal  mechanism  working, 
and  uttering  itself  to  him  in  mathematical  forms, 
especially  geometric,  for  he  was  somewhat  averse 
to  the  rising  algebraic  or  analytic  method  intro- 
duced by  Descartes. 

We  are,  accordingly,  to  grapple  with  the  three 
laws  of  Motion,  or  of  the  Moving  Body,  as  the  first 
stage  of  the  Particularized  Cosmos,  or  better,  as 
the  first  process  of  it. 

I.  First  Law  of  Motion.  This  is,  in  general, 
the  law  of  the  inert  Body  which  is  to  become  the 
moving  Body: 


182  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

"Every  Body  perseveres  in  its  state  of  rest  or  of 
moving  uniformly  forward  in  a  straight  line  (in  di- 
rectum), unless  it  is  compelled  by  forces  impressed 
upon  it  (a  viribus  impressis)  to   change  its   state." 

Given  the  material  Body  at  rest  or  in  motion, 
what  breaks  into  it  and  causes  it  to  alter  and  di- 
versify its  condition?  Some  external  force  is  the 
Newtonian  conception.  We  may  bring  out  the 
main  points: 

(1)  The  primal  condition  of  Body  is  here  given 
as  rest,  which  implies  its  relation  to  the  earth's 
center.  For  in  the  large  outlook  no  Body  is  at 
rest  in  the  universe;  even  the  inert  Body  is  always 
moving  with  the  earth  around  the  sun.  So  the 
scene  is  terrestrial,  the  Body  is  located  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  planet.  Such  is  the  primordial  rest 
with  which  the  incorporate  or  particularized  Cos- 
mos starts.  To  be  sure  the  starting-point  is  itself 
a  result,  indeed  a  result  of  Motion,  as  we  shall  see 
later. 

(2)  The  second  condition  mentioned  in  the  law 
is  the  motion  of  the  Body  in  a  right  line  when  its 
rest  may  be  supposed  to  be  broken  into.  The 
earth's  gravity  is  assailed,  and  the  moving  Body 
goes  its  own  way,  with  its  own  center.  We  should 
note  also  the  Body's  rectiHneal  Motion,  not  circu- 
lar, or  self-returning.  This  second  condition  is  a 
breaking  away  from  the  immediate  influence  of 
the  earth,  and  a  kind  of  self-assertion  on  the  part 
of  the  Body,  in  which  we  may  see  an  act  of  sepa- 


THE  MOVING  BODY.  183 

ration   from  first  unity   between  it  and  its  terres- 
trial Counterpart. 

(3)  Upon  both  these  states  of  rest  and  motion, 
a  new  power  may  impinge  and  produce  a  change. 
This  force  {vis  impressa)  may  bring  the  Body  from 
rest  to  motion,  or  from  motion  to  rest,  or  from  one 
motion  to  another.  There  is  a  world  of  such  forces 
outside  of  the  Body  at  rest  or  in  motion,  which 
are  always  determining  it  anew  and  producing 
changes  of  state.  Moreover,  the  moving  Body  is 
exposed  to  collision  in  an  incessant  whirl  of  other 
Bodies.  The  first  law  of  Motion,  accordingly,  un- 
folds the  conflict  of  the  Particularized  Cosmos 
sprung  of  its  ever-colliding  forces.  The  Body 
from  its  immediate  condition  is  whelmed  into  a 
seething  reservoir  of  conflict,  at  least  as  far  as  the 
earth  is  concerned. 

The  first  law  of  Motion  is  often  called  the  law  of 
the  inertia  of  the  Body.  This  means  its  persist- 
ence in  its  given  condition;  if  it  be  at  rest  it  stays 
so,  if  it  be  in  motion  it  continues  to  move.  It  has 
no  inner  power  of  determination ;  any  change  in 
its  state  must  come  from  without.  The  corporeal 
world  is  a  world  externally  determined;  the  first 
Body  is  devoid  of  self-movement.  This  is  the  op- 
posite of  the  universal  Self,  which  must  be  wholly 
moved  from  within,  and  has  all  difference  inside 
itself.  But  the  first  Body  possesses  only  stolid, 
persistent  self -identity,  all  change  in  it  must  come 
from  the  outside. 


184  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

11.  Second  Law  of  Motion.  We  have  reached 
an  ever-changing  world  ot  moving  Bodies,  or  the 
first  manifestation  of  the  Particularized  Cosmos. 
Next  we  are  to  see  if  this  changeful  appearance 
has  not  some  principle  which  may  flash  a  gleam  of 
order  through  its  seemingly  chaotic  diversity- 
Here  is  the  second  law  in  the  present  domain. 

'Change  of  Motion  is  proportional  to  the  motive 
force  {vi  motrici) ,  and  is  produced  along  a  right 
line  on  which  that  force  is  impressed." 

Here  Body  is  not  directly  mentioned,  but  Mo- 
tion is  the  emphatic  word.  Still  the  Motion  of 
Body  it  is  which  underhes  the  conception  of  the 
present  law.  The  theme  is  corporeal  Motion  with 
the  degree  of  the  change  and  its  kind,  as  well  as 
its  direction. 

(1)  The  first  concept  here  is  that  of  the  collision 
of  Bodies,  to  which  we  are  now  specially  intro- 
duced. A  moving  Body  is  impinged  upon  by 
another  moving  Body  or  motive  force,  and  the 
result  is  a  change  of  its  motion. 

(2)  This  change  is  proportional  to  the  imping- 
ing power.  Thus  the  world  of  conflicting  Bodies 
has  its  proportion  and  is  measurable.  The  greater 
the  impact  the  greater  the  change;  the  one  deter- 
mines the  other.  We  note  here  the  division  of 
the  corporeal  world  into  two  parts:  the  moving 
and  the  moved.  Yet  each  Body  may  be  one  or 
the  other. 

(3)  The  rectilinear  direction    of  impact   or  of 


THE  MOVING  BODY.  185 

these  changes  of  Motion  is  specially  emphasized. 
This  right  line  is  simply  a  continuation  of  the  line 
of  motive  force,  which  thus  determines  the  char- 
acter, the  direction  and  the  quantity  of  the  change 
of  Motion.  Matter  as  Body  is  now  seen  to  be  the 
transmitter  of  Motion  as  Force.  The  incorporate 
Cosmos  before  us  is  in  a  state  of  conveying  in- 
creasingly Motion  from  particle  to  particle.  And 
that  Motion  being  limited  has  the  tendency  to  be 
rectilineal. 

The  first  law  of  Motion  regarded  the  Body  as 
such,  in  its  immediate  condition,  whether  at  rest 
or  in  motion  —in  which  condition  it  persisted  unless 
compelled  to  change  by  an  outside  power.  But 
the  second  law  of  Motion  regards  this  outside 
power  or  colliding  force,  and  makes  it  the  measure 
of  the  change  of  Motion  produced  in  the  Body 
upon  which  it  impinges.  So  we  pass  from  one 
Body  mainly  to  two  Bodies  with  their  conflict. 

III.  Third  Law  of  Motion.  The  two  imping- 
ing Bodies,  one  of  which  has  just  been  shown  deter- 
mining the  other,  are  now  brought  into  a  kind  of 
mutuality  of  influence,  in  which  they  both  are 
alike. 

"To  action  reaction  is  always  equal  and  oppo- 
site; or  the  actions  of  two  Bodies  toward  each 
other  mutually  are  always  equal,  and  are  directed 
against  opposite  parts." 

The  reciprocal  relation  of  incorporate  Motion  is 
here  formulated  as  action   and  reaction;  it  is  well 


186  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

to  note  the  introduction  of  the  two  correlative 
words  instead  of  force  or  motion.  The  two  forces 
are  opposite,  yet  equal,  indeed  alike  in  character; 
truly  they  are  one  in  their  very  opposition,  and 
form  a  process  together.  Upon  this  fact  a  few 
words  may  be  added. 

(1)  The  new  point  is  that  of  counteractive  Mo- 
tion against  the  motive  force  which  had  the  em- 
phasis in  the  preceding  law.  The  body  assailed 
now  seems  to  wake  up  and  to  respond  by  an  equal 
assault,  though  it  may  be  overwhelmed  by  a 
greater  amount  of  force  or  motion. 

(2)  Two  Bodies  are  now  mentioned  {corporum 
duorum),  rather  than  implied,  as  they  were  not 
directly  named  in  the  preceding  law.  Moreover 
they  are  put  on  terms  of  equality  and  interrelation; 
there  is  still  the  collision,  but  it  now  is  made  mu- 
tual. The  blow  is  given  but  each  hits  the  part  op- 
posed to  it— wherein  again  they  are  alike. 

(3)  Action  and  reaction  in  their  very  opposi- 
tion are  one  in  character  and  form  together  a 
round  of  Motions — action  calling  forth  reaction, 
which  is  a  return  upon  action  with  its  own.  The 
third  law  thus  winds  up  not  in  circular  Motion, 
but  in  a  cycle  of  two  Motions  of  two  Bodies 
which  make  a  totality  of  conception,  and  form  a 
very  suggestive  conclusion  of  these  three  laws  of 
Motion. 

It  may  be  further  conceived  that  when  the  two 
colliding  Bodies  have  spent  their  action  and  reac- 


THE  MOVING  BODY.  187 

tion,  they  will  return  to  their  state  of  rest  as  inert 
Bodies;  or  to  the  state  taken  for  granted  by  the 
first  law.  From  such  a  point  of  view  the  third 
law  has  gone  back  to  the  beginning,  and  has 
rounded  out  the  process  of  the  moving  Body  in 
the  present  stage  of  the  particularized  Cosmos. 

In  other  words,  these  three  laws  constitute  a 
psychical  process,  that  which  we  call  psychosis. 
They  are  to  be  taken  singly,  but  still  more  pro- 
foundly they  are  to  be  taken  together.  They 
formulate  the  elemental  unity  of  all  Moving 
Bodies,  in  fact  of  the  whole  Particularized  Cosmos, 
of  which  they  stand  first  as  a  kind  of  ideal  proto- 
type. It  is  this  process  which  has  given  them 
their  enduring  place  in  the  science.  They  deserve 
all  the  laudation  of  Professor  Tait,  but  for  a 
deeper  reason  than  he  presents.  Singly  they  were 
known  before  Newton;  the  first  must  have  long 
been  the  common  property  of  every  observer,  the 
second  had  been  employed  by  Galileo,  the  third  is 
found  in  the  works  of  Huygens  and  others.  But 
it  was  Newton  who  put  them  together  in  their 
threefold  succession  and  thus  suggested  their 
unity.  Still  he  does  not  speak  of  their  process  or 
of  their  unitary  character.  That  probably  lay 
outside  of  his  consciousness.  At  any  rate  he  sets 
them  down  on  the  same  page  in  the  introduction 
to  his  Principia,  to  whose  geometric  demonstra- 
tions he  evidently  regards  them  as  the  axiomatic 
foundation  which  does  not  need  proof. 


188  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

These  Newtonian  Laws  of  Motion  have  not  es- 
caped criticism.  Especially  the  first  has  been  re- 
garded as  a  special  instance  of  the  second  and 
hence  superfluous.  But  a  little  study  ought  to 
make  plain  that  they  are  quite  different,  and  that 
the  only  way  to  unify  them  is  to  see  them  as  two 
separate  stages  of  the  one  fundamental  process  of 
the  Moving  Body,  to  which  process  the  third  law 
also  belongs. 

Another  distinction  may  be  noted  at  this  point : 
as  we  have  had  the  elements  of  the  total  Cosmos 
(Motion,  Matter,  Measure)  in  our  first  chapter,  so 
now  we  have  the  elements  of  the  particular  Cos- 
mos in  these  three  Laws  of  Motion.  They  may 
be  deemed  the  general  forms  into  which  the  real 
world  of  moving  Bodies  is  to  be  cast.  This  real 
world  is  what  comes  next. 

IL 

The    Impinging  Body. 

Conceive  all  finite  Matter  around  us  here  on  the 
terrestrial  ball — what  is  its  condition?  It  is  press- 
ing, pushing,  coHiding — in  a  word  impinging. 
Even  if  we  say  it  to  be  at  rest,  it  is  exerting  a 
pressure,  it  shows  impact.  Already  this  idea  came 
before  us  in  the  laws  of  Motion,  all  of  which  intro- 
duce a  motive  force  which  in  one  way  or  other 
assails  and  changes  the  state  of  the  Body,  moving 
or  at  rest. 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  189 

As  already  indicated,  the  laws  of  Motion  were 
vast  generalizations,  fundamental  axioms  laid 
down  in  advance  of  the  manifold  details  of  the 
real  world  of  moving  Bodies  which  now  appears. 
The  particularized  Cosmos  is  here  to  be  mani- 
fested in  all  its  sensuous  reality,  which  takes  the 
form  of  impact  in  the  present  section. 

It  must  again  be  observed  that  this  world  of 
moving  Bodies,  each  asserting  itself  against  the 
rest  and  yet  each  drawn  earthward  by  gravity, 
means  mutual  collision,  or  a  world  of  impinging 
Bodies.  So  we  pass  from  a  rather  abstract  or 
general  sphere  to  a  decidedly  concrete  one,  which 
also  has  its  place  in  the  science  of  Nature. 

What  is  to  be  done  with  this  writhing,  strug- 
gling multiplicity  of  impinging  Bodies  which  every- 
where meets  our  gaze  over  our  terrestrial  habita- 
tion? Certainly  it  is  to  be  put  into  some  kind  of 
order  which  turns  it  from  seeming  chaos  into  cos- 
mos, or  into  a  phase  thereof.  And  the  law  is  again 
to  be  found,  the  law  derived  from  its  phenomena. 
But  we  are  to  observe  that  this  second  kind  of 
laws  are  different  from  those  of  Motion  already 
given,  as  they  are  not  axiomatic  in  their  character 
but  are  unfolded  directly  out  of  the  sensuous  facts, 
and  usually  express  or  imply  some  kind  of  meas- 
urement. 

The  question  of  impact  has  been  a  center  of  dis- 
cussion in  physical  science  ever  since  the  so-called 
discovery   of   Gravitation,   which  controls  all  ma- 


190  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

terial  bodies  through  the  most  remote  distances  of 
the  Cosmos.  The  sun  attracts  the  earth.  What 
reaches  out  from  the  former  and  pulls  the  latter? 
Is  there  a  medium  between  the  sun  and  earth 
which  enables  each  to  influence  the  other  by  direct 
impact?  Or  does  one  body  move  another  at  a 
distance  without  any  intervening  medium? 

The  problem,  accordingly,  turns  on  impact  as 
the  source  of  all  motion  of  Bodies.  This  is  what 
is  familiar  to  us  through  our  senses  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth;  but  is  this  view,  which  holds  here,  to 
be  made  universal,  to  be  applied  throughout  the 
entire  physical  universe?  Mars  is  supposed  to 
attract  Sirius  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of 
universal  Gravitation,  which  affirms  that  all  bodies 
whatever  attract  one  another  with  a  force  propor- 
tional directly  to  their  masses  and  inversely  to  the 
squares  of  their  distances.  Now  this  action  of 
Mars  upon  Sirius — is  it  immediate,  the  so-called 
actio  in  distans,  or  is  it  mediated  through  another 
body,  perchance  through  the  ether? 

Newton,  the  formulator  of  the  theory  of  Gravi- 
tation, kept  aloof  from  any  decisive  answer  either 
way,  especially  in  his  Principia,  though  he  speaks 
more  positively  elsewhere.  The  question  may  be 
put  in  this  form :  Is  Gravitation  the  result  of  im- 
pact, or  an  inherent  property  of  Matter  acting 
everywhere  at  a  distance?  The  first  alternative  is 
unproved  and  the  second  is  inconceivable,  except 
as  an  occult  cause.     A  universal   mechanical  view 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  191 

of  the  world  cries  out  for  impact;  and  this  seems 
to  be  thfe  present  trend  of  scientific  opinion,  which 
insists  upon  the  aphorism :  A  thing  cannot  act 
where  it  is  not.  The  wave-theory  which  has  so 
successfully  united  Heat,  Light,  and  Electricity  has 
been  invoked  in  the  case  of  Gravitation  also.  The 
difficulty  is  that  Gravitation  seems  instantaneous, 
and  so  is  not  measurable  in  time. 

The  problem,  then,  is  still  unsettled — ^the  prob- 
lem whether  Gravitation  is  the  result  of  impact,  or 
is  an  innate,  essential  property  of  Matter.  But 
whatever  be  our  view  on  this  speculative  theme, 
we  all  have  to  say  and  think  that  Matter  is  heavy, 
and  that  weight  is  an  immanent  characteristic  of 
it.  Gravitation  is  measurable  and  is  reduced  to  a 
quantitative  law;  nobody  has  been  able  to  get 
behind  it  and  to  see  what  causes  it,  to  find  what 
other  impinging  body  pushes  or  pulls  two  widely 
separated  bodies.  As  far  as  experience  goes,  Grav- 
itation is  inherent  in  Matter,  and  works  without 
direct  impact,  though  such  a  view  runs  counter 
to  making  the  Cosmos  a  universal  machine. 

And  now  it  falls  to  our  lot  to  attempt  the  organ- 
ization of  this  vast  realm  of  impinging  Bodies,  in 
the  midst  of  which  we  live  and  act  every  moment. 
Our  breath,  our  sight,  all  our  senses  strike  against 
something,  are  in  a  state  of  perpetual  impact. 
Each  one  of  us,  being  embodied,  is  a  center  of  in- 
finite collisions  with  the  world  incorporate.  And 
this  world  incorporate  is  in  a  continual  fight  with 


192  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

itself;  its  Bodies  are  impinging  or  are  ready  to  im- 
pinge upon  one  another.  Nature  is  often  said  to 
be  in  an  eternal  condition  of  war;  that  is  one  state- 
ment of  her  inherent  dualism.  Yet  in  all  this 
strife  there  is  a  striving  for  order  and  harmony. 
The  domain  of  the  impinging  Body  is  making  a 
tremendous  effort  to  get  out  of  itself;  impact 
struggles  to  overcome  impact;  in  other  words  it 
too  is  dialectical  like  total  Nature,  of  which  it  is  a 
part  or  stage. 

So  we  shall  attempt  to  run  some  lines  of  order 
through  this  realm  of  seeming  disorder.  In  the 
first  place  there  is  the  impact  which  is  direct  or 
immediate,  as  when  bodies  press  one  another 
simply  through  their  own  gravity — wherein  is 
manifested  the  phenomenon  of  weight.  In  the 
second  place,  bodies  impinge  with  added  force  or 
momentum,  which  is  transfen^ed  from  one  body  to 
the  other — impact  as  translatory,  which  produces 
ever-flowing  currents  in  the  ocean  of  force.  In  the 
third  place,  an  implement  or  machine  is  employed 
by  man  to  seize  upon  and  to  direct  these  natural 
currents  of  force — impact  as  mechanical  or  medi- 
ated by  a  machine.  These  points  will  be  consid- 
ered in  a  little  detail. 

I.  Impact  as  Immediate.  Or  we  may  call  it 
impact  by  pressure,  in  which  the  impinging  Body 
is  inert,  but  is  exerting  the  force  of  its  inertia 
upon  another  Body,  while  this  in  turn  gives  back 
an  equal  counter-pressure.    Both  Bodies  are  striv- 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  193 

ing  to  become  one  through  mutual  attraction, 
really  they  arc  striving  to  undo  themselves  as  cor- 
poreal. And  yet  as  Body  each  asserts  itself 
against  the  other  and  maintains  its  separate  exist- 
ence by  struggle,  by  what  wc  may  call  resistance. 
Here  we  see  the  fierce  dualism  of  the  present  do- 
main, we  may  deem  it  the  war  always  waged  in 
the  Particularized  Cosmos.  Each  Body  has  its 
separate  particular  gift,  which  keeps  it  together, 
causing  it  to  cohere  as  one  against  the  others  and 
even  against  the  earth.  This  cohesive  Body  as  a 
particularized  piece  of  Matter  will  stay  with  us  to 
the  conclusion  of  Nature,  being  found  still  in  the 
living  organic  world.  But  Cohesion  specially  will 
be  attacked  in  the  Diacosmos,  and  turned  to  the 
opposite  of  itself,  as  we  shall  see  later. 

At  present,  however,  we  arc  in  the  midst  of  the 
terrestrial  conflict  of  the  impinging  Body  as  im- 
mediate, which  also  has  its  stages. 

(1)  The  center  of  gravity  is  conceived  as  the 
point  in  the  Body  where  the  whole  action  of  grav- 
ity is  concentrated.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that 
every  particle  of  matter,  large  or  small,  does  not 
remain  extended  and  scattered  in  its  chief  force, 
which  is  that  of  gravity,  but  shows  a  certain 
power-  of  self-unification  at  a  common  inner  point. 
Let  the  Body  be  broken  to  fragments,  each  frag- 
ment at  once  coUects  itself  specially  into  a  new 
unit  of  might  and  is  ready  for  the  struggle,  having 
become  an  impinging  Body  in  itself.    The  center  of 


13 


194  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

gravity  is  accordingly  a  striking  manifestation  of 
the  Cosmos  particularizing  itself  into  fresh  forms 
ever  prepared  for  impact. 

(2)    Two  centers  of  gravity  appear  in  this  realm 
of  impinging  Body;  the  one  is  terrestrial,  the  other 
is  found  in  every  piece  of  incorporate  Matter.  The 
one  is  universal,  or  relatively  so,  that  of  the  earth; 
the  other  is  particular   and  is  characteristic  of  the 
particularized  Cosmos.     Now  these  two  centers  of 
gravity  belong  together,  and  are  always  connected 
by  an  ideal  line.     When  this  line  falls  within  the 
impinging  Body,  this  is  said  to  be  in  equilibrium, 
but  when  it  falls  outside  the  same — as  we  may  see 
in  the  tipping  of  a  chair — the   Body  loses   its  first 
equihbrium  and  seeks  another,  which  will  maintain 
the  ideal  line  between  its  center  and  that  of  the 
earth.   Thus  every  particular  Body  can  be  centered 
in  itself  only  through  the  universal  center;  it  can- 
not exist  merely  with  its  own  center  of  gravity;  if 
once  decentered  from  the  earth,  it  starts  to  restore 
the  equilibrium,  the  line  of  connection.     But  the 
fact  is  that  this  connecting  line  between  the  gen- 
eral terrestrial  center  and  the  infinitely  multitud- 
inous special   centers  is  always  being  severed  and 
restored;  bodies,  impinging  on  one   another,  assail 
it  and  break  it,  producing  the  conflicts  of  the  in- 
corporate Cosmos. 

The  disturbance  or  loss  of  equilibrium  is  largely 
what  produces  Motion  in  Bodies  inanimate.  But 
living  Bodies  preserve  their  center  of  gravity  while 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  195 

moving.  The  four-footed  animals  have  in  this  re- 
spect an  easier  task  than  man,  who  has  gradually 
to  learn  to  keep  his  equilibrium  on  two  feet  and  to 
walk  at  the  same  time.  In  sleep,  however,  he  re- 
turns to  the  position  of  the  piece  of  inert  Matter, 
yielding  himself  completely  to  Mother  Earth,  as 
one  of  her  clods,  and  receiving  in  return  her  re- 
newal and  restoration. 

(3)  The  relation  between  the  two  centers  of 
gravity,  the  general  and  special,  is  measurable, 
and  gives  rise  to  what  is  known  as  the  weight  of 
bodies.  To  what  extent  will  the  earth's  center  pull 
toward  itself  the  center  of  this  given  piece  of  Mat- 
ter? A  machine  is  constructed  to  tell  the 
fact  which  is  important  to  be  known  on  many 
accounts.  It  is  obsei-ved  that  bodies  of  the 
same  bulk  have  very  different  weights;  the 
matter  in  thom  is  massed  diversely,  wherewith 
enters  the  conception  of  mass  as  a  significant 
element  of  the  particular  body.  Around  their 
centers  of  gravity  all  bodies  manifest  different  de- 
grees of  solidification  thrcnigh  density  and  rarity. 
These  various  masses  have  the  common  character- 
istic of  being  weighablc,  and  hence  comparable 
with  oneanothcr,  A  great  orderer  of  the  world  of 
diversely  impinging  bodies  is  the  spring  balance 
and  the  pair  of  scales,  since  they  reduce  to  one 
measure  the  vast  variety  of  the  incorporate 
Cosmos. 

But  before    anytning  can  be   rightly  weighed, 


196  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

there  must  be  the  third  mediating  body:  the 
standard  of  weight,  which  is  also  impinging  or 
has  pressure.  Find  to  what  degree  the  center  of 
this  lump  of  coal  is  drawn  to  the  center  of  the 
earth;  next  find  to  what  degree  the  center  of  this 
stick  of  wood  is  drawn  to  the  center  of  the  earth ; 
then  we  can  compare  the  masses  of  two  combust- 
ible materials.  But  we  must  have  the  third  body 
(say  the  pound-weight)  as  the  basis  of  comparing 
the  gravities  of  the  two  impinging  objects. 

It  belongs  to  the  science  of  Metrology  to  ascer- 
tain the  best  standard  of  measurement.  Each 
people  persists  in  having  its  own ;  yet  among  scien- 
tific men  of  all  nations  the  French  standard  has 
been  adopted.  But  the  interesting  fact  here  is 
that  amid  the  enormous  diversity  of  impinging 
bodies,  one  is  chosen  as  universal  mediator.  So 
we  have  in  this  field  a  mediation  of  multitudinous 
corporeal  collisions;  they  are  reduced  to  unity  and 
order  by  the  simple  act  of  weighing. 

We  may  now  put  together  the  process  of  the 
immediately  impinging  Body,  which  presses  di- 
rectly upon  the  earth.  First  is  the  one  center  of 
gravity;  secondly  we  behold  two  centers  of  grav- 
ity, general  and  special;  third  is  the  mediating 
principle  as  above  set  forth. 

II.  Impact  as  Transferred.  This  implies 
double  impact  or  the  collision  of  at  least  two  par- 
ticular bodies,  each  having  its  own  mass.  In  the 
previous  stage  of  the  impinging  Body,  impact  as 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  197 

mere  pressure  was  the  main  consideration;  strictly 
there  was  no  collision,  no  impact  of  diversely 
moving  bodies  with  their  concentrated  gravities 
smiting  together.  Impact  here  becomes  explicit, 
active,  an  open  war  of  the  Particularized  Cosmos 
— a  war  wdiich  was  quiescent  or  merely  potential 
where  there  was  only  pressure. 

According  to  Newton's  third  law  of  Motion, 
action  and  reaction  are  always  equal,  the  imping- 
ing Body  gets  back  what  it  gives.  That  is,  im- 
pact is  imparted  both  ways ;  it  is  transferred  from 
one  to  the  other.  The  degree  of  impact  is  propor- 
tional to  the  velocity  multiplied  by  the  mass,  and 
is  called  in  physics  the  momentum  of  a  body. 

Mass  has  a  somewhat  different  meaning  from 
weight,  which  is  rather  the  measure  of  mass.  Some 
scientists,  we  note,  trouble  themselves  a  good  deal 
about  the  exact  significance  of  mass,  but  one  can 
get  along  by  considering  it  simply  as  the  quantity 
of  Matter  in  a  body.  In  general,  Matter  may  be 
conceived  as  differentiating  itself  into  all  the 
diverse  masses  of  .the  Particularized  Cosmos,  each 
of  which  has  its  own  separate  massive  character. 
Moreover  the  weight  of  the  special  mass  is  deter- 
mined by  the  general  center  of  gravity,  and  hence 
differs  on  the  surface  of  every  planet.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  [I.  body  weighing  one  pound  on  the 
earth  would  weigh  two  and  a  half  pounds  on  the 
larger  Jupiter,  but  only  two  ounces  on  the  smaller 
Moon,  while  it  would  rise  to  more  than  twenty- 


198  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

seven  pounds  on  the  Sun.  Thus  the  weight  of  a 
body  which  is  a  chief  element  of  its  impinging 
power  varies  according  to  the  planetary  mass  on 
whose  surface  it  may  be  found. 

The  impinging  Body  with  its  concentrated  might 
of  terrestrial  gravity,  we  are  to  see  transferring  its 
impact  in  various  ways,  of  which  we  shall  note 
the  following: 

(1)  The  well-known  parallelogram  of  two  forces 
with  its  diagonal  gives  a  striking  geometric  image 
of  the  transference  of  impact  from  two  bodies  to  a 
third.  The  diagonal  is  called  the  resultant,  while 
the  two  adjacent  sides  representing  the  double  im- 
pact are  conceived  as  the  components  of  the  one 
resultant.  That  is,  if  two  bodies  moving  from 
different  directions  impinge  upon  a  common  object 
equally  movable  with  themselves,  the  result  is  a 
common  motion  compounded  of  the  two  impacts. 
On  the  other  hand  a  single  motion  can  be  decom- 
posed (or  resolved)  into  two  motions  coming  from 
a  double  impact.  Thus  the  motion  of  a  body  is 
conceived  as  a  compound  capable  of  decomposi- 
tion and  recomposition  similar  to  a  chemical  com- 
pound. 

Again,  the  two  impacts  of  two  impinging  bodies 
upon  each  other  or  upon  a  third  may  be  mutually 
balanced  or  neutralized,  so  that  the  resultant  is 
no  motion,  or  is  an  equilibrium  of  impacts.  A 
man  cannot  pull  himself  up-stairs  by  his  boot- 
straps .    A  boy   in  his  skiff  finds  that  he    cannot 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  199 

push  it  with  his  oar  against  the  stern.  Arnott 
tells  of  a  person  who  put  a  bellows  into  his  boat 
and  puffed  a  blast  against  the  sail  to  impel  his 
craft. 

Thus  impact  in  its  transference  may  be  united 
(compounded),  may  be  divided  (resolved),  or  may 
be  equilibrated  (neutralized).  In  these  cases  impact 
shows  action  on  the  one  hand  and  reaction  on  the 
other,  which  are  variously  transferred.  But  now 
we  are  to  see  that  impact  both  in  its  action  and 
reaction  can  be  imparted  to  and  through  other 
bodies. 

(2)  A  row  of  billiard  balls  in  contact  may  be 
taken  for  illustration.  If  a  ball  impinges  on  one 
end,  the  impact  is  communicated  through  the 
whole  row  to  the  last  ball  which  flies  off  in  re- 
sponse to  the  stroke,  while  the  other  balls  remain 
as  if  at  rest.  Each  ball  transfers  the  original 
impact  to  its  neighbor  which  does  the  same  till 
the  end  ball  is  reached.  Each  ball  reacts  against 
the  blow,  and  then  converts  this  reaction  to 
action  against  the  contiguous  ball.  Thus  in  each 
of  them  action  and  reaction  are  equal,  and  the 
intermediate  body,  both  impinging  and  impinged 
upon,  stands  still  in  an  equilibrium  of  two  oppo- 
site forces.  The  last  ball  receives  the  impact,  but 
has  no  counter-impact  from  another  ball,  and  so 
must  yield.  In  the  ease  of  billiard  balls,  elastic- 
ity has  a  part  in  this  play  of  action  and  reaction. 
But  the  main  point   is   to  see  impact  transferred 


200  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

through  a  hne  of  bodies,  each  of  which  mediates 
the  two  extremes.  All  the  members  of  the  series 
are  equilibrated  except  the  first  and  last  which 
which  are  thus  brought  together,  though  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  each  other. 

This  fact  has  a  far-reaching  significance.  Im- 
pact, then,  can  be  transmitted  through  Space  by 
the  mediation  of  intervening  bodies.  Not  only 
solids,  but  liquids  and  gases  will  show  the  same 
property.  Sound  doubtless  is  propagated  in  a 
similar  way  through  the  air- waves.  Heat,  Light  and 
Electricity  stimulate  a  medium,  which  bears  their 
impact  far  through  space.  The  universally  medi- 
ating ether,  which  is  now  getting  so  much  atten- 
tion, is  supposed  to  have  the  power  of  an  unlim- 
ited transference  of  the  slightest  impact  through- 
out the  physical  universe. 

(3)  Impact  as  transferred  can  be  measured  and 
has  its  mathematical  formula  under  the  name  of 
linear  momentum.  This  is  the  force  of  the  im- 
pinging Bodv,  which  is  made  up  of  two  elements: 
the  mass  (quantity  of  Matter)  and  the  rate  of 
Motion,  or  velocity.  The  momentum  of  impact 
is  found  by  multiplying  together  mass  and  velocity 
(expressed  in  the  formula  m  v).  Newton  calls  this 
momentum  the  quantity  of  Motion  (Def.  11.  Prin- 
cipid),  saying  that  "the  quantity  of  Motion  is  the 
measure  of  the  same,  and  arises  from  the  velocity 
and  quantity  of  Matter  conjointly."  The  world  of 
impact  as  translatory  is  thus  quantified,  reduced 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY  201 

to  order  through  measure,  and  made  tractable, 
yea  Useful.  Mass  is  measured  practically  by 
weight,  and  velocity  by  motion  in  time;  hence 
momentum  is  the  union  of  two  measures,  which  is 
preserved  in  the  formula  m  v. 

Impact  as  transferred  or  translatory  we  have 
seen  in  its  three  leading  stages:  first,  as  trans- 
ferred immediately  to  the  third  body  moving 
along  the  diagonal  of  a  parallelogram;  secondly,  as 
transferred  mediately  through  a  number  of  inter- 
vening bodies;  thirdly,  as  transferred  universally 
according  to  a  common  measure  or  quantitative 
law,  under  v/hich  all  the  diverse  impacts  of  the 
Cosmos  are  to  be  subsumed. 

In  this  second  stage  of  impact  the  translatory 
force  was  left  to  itself,  the  mediating  body  simply 
performed  its  natural  function  of  translation.  But 
now  man  will  seize  upon  this  mediating  body 
with  its  translatory  force,  and  transform  its  nat- 
ural into  an  artificial  function  of  translation. 
This  new  mediating  body  with  its  impact  is  called 
the  Machine. 

III.  Impact  as  Mechanical.  This  still  deals 
with  impact  as  transferred,  but  this  transference 
takes  place  in  an  entirely  new  way,  namely  by  a 
mechanical  contrivance.  The  mediating  body 
still  appears,  but  as  transformed  by  man  and  filled 
with  his  purpose.  The  two  extremes  which  the 
machine  mediates  are  usually  known  as  Power 
and  Weight:  the   active  Power  is  to  be  applied  to 


202  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

the  Machine  by  impact  of  some  kind,  and  the 
passive  Weight  is  to  be  overcome  in  its  resist- 
ance. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  first  of  all,  that  the  Ma- 
chine does  not  generate  Power,  but  is  to  transfer 
it,  distribute  it,  apply  it.  In  fact  the  Machine 
always  must  cause  some  loss  of  the  original  Power 
applied  to  it,  through  friction  and  resistance  of 
the  air.  Its  peculiar  character  is  directive,  medi- 
ative,  translatory;  it  is  the  great  middle  term  be- 
tween the  world  of  impact  with  its  working  en- 
ergy, and  the  inertia  of  Matter  with  its  opposition 
to  all  change  of  state.  The  attempt  has  often 
been  made  to  invent  a  machine  which  would  gen- 
erate its  power  inside  itself,  whereby  there  would 
be  perpetual  Motion.  Of  course  such  a  conception 
contradicts  the  very  nature  of  a  machine,  which  is 
to  receive  its  power  from  the  outside  and  to  dis- 
tribute it  in  various  ways.  Such  a  self-moving 
machine  could  only  be  a  living  body.  There  is, 
however,  a  machine  which  in  a  sense  may  be 
called  self-propelling — the  locomotive  which  carries 
the  generating  force  to  drive  the  wheels  from 
without.  The  machinery  does  not  supply  its 
own  force  but  takes  it  along.  Thus  it  is  a  syn- 
thesis of  several  co-operating  machines  which  are 
ultimately  driven  by  external  impact.  Still,  the  lo- 
comotive is  the  most  impressive  and  significant  copy 
of  a  living  thing;  we  may  indeed  call  it  the  free 
machine,  which   could   only   be  invented  and  ap- 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  203 

plied  by  a  people  animated  with  the  conception  of 
freedom. 

The  Machine  has  another  trait  of  much  signifi- 
cance: it  can  transform  speed  and  distance  into 
power.  A  man  exerting  a  certain  force  in  hoisting 
a  weight  of  100  pounds  can  with  the  same  force 
hoist  ten  times  as  much  by  a  system  of  pulleys, 
but  it  will  take  him  ten  times  as  long.  Archi- 
medes declared  he  could  move  the  world  by  his 
machine,  if  he  had  a  place  to  stand  on.  But  his 
body  would  have  to  sweep  through  an  enormous 
distance  and  at  an  enormous  speed,  in  order  to 
raise  the  earth  a  millionth  of  an  inch  in  a  million 
years.  So  it  is  often  said  that  what  a  machine 
gains  in  power  is  lost  in  time,  or  it  may  be  in  dis- 
tance. The  impinging  force  can  be  increased  a 
hundred  fold  by  a  mechanical  contrivance,  but  it 
has  to  pay  for  it  in  Space  or  Time,  or  both.  The 
machine  is,  therefore,  a  kind  of  controller  of  those 
two  obstructive,  though  primordial  elements  of  the 
Cosmos,  Space  and  Time,  exchanging  them  for  in- 
creased power.  In  this  respect  a  great  destiny 
lies  before  machinery,  as  minimizing  the  hindrance 
or  the  separation,  caused  by  those  two  huge  cos- 
mi  cal  barriers,  Space  and  Time,  which  have  to  be 
overcome  by  man  in  winning  a  higher  freedom. 

Heroin  the  xMachinc  puts  its  stamp  upon  an  age 
or  a  civilization.  The  vast  forces  of  Nature,  run- 
ning to  waste,  can  be  picked  up  and  utilized  by 
machinery  which  takes  the  place  of  the  far  weaker 


204  OSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

muscular  effort,  and  relieves  the  human  being  of  a 
great  part  of  his  burden.  In  general  the  machine 
makes  for  freedom,  though  it  may  get  to  control- 
ling the  man  instead  of  being  controlled  by  him. 
So  the  machine  can  and  does  in  individual  cases 
produce  servitude  instead  of  enfranchisement. 
Ours  is  called  a  mechanical  age,  usually  by  way  of 
disparagement.  Its  chief  function  is  undoubtedly 
to  harness  the  huge  monstrous  colliding  powers  of 
Nature  to  machinery  and  set  them  to  work  for 
ends  useful  to  man,  especially  for  his  one  ultimate 
end,  freedom.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  freest  peo- 
ples are  the  most  mechanical,  are  the  most  suc- 
cessful and  ingenious  in  the  employment  of  the 
Machine. 

The  science  of  to-day  has  unquestionably  a  de- 
cided mechanical  tendency;  it  grapples  with  and 
seeks  to  know  the  mighty  impinging  forces  of  the 
natural  world  and  to  fetter  them  in  a  mathemat- 
ical formula,  since  mathematics  may  be  deemed 
the  universal  or  ideal  machine  controlling  and  me- 
diating all  Nature.  Still  further,  the  universe  is 
often  set  forth  as  a  kind  of  mechanism,  and  the 
world-view  becomes  mechanical,  resting  wholly 
upon  external  determination  which  is  a  denial  of 
freedom.  The  All  is  declared  unfree — which  state- 
ment is  a  contradiction  in  terms,  though  many  a 
philosophy  is  based  upon  it.  The  Machine,  there- 
fore, gets  sometimes  to  be  a  spiritual  mediator, 
which  is  not  exactly  its  function. 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY,  205 

We  come  back  to  the  original  purpose  of  ma- 
'  chinery  which  is,  in  general,  to  mediate  impact,  or 
the  force  of  an  impinging  body.  It  directs,  dis- 
tributes, and  even  concentrates  external  energy 
upon  some  resisting  object;  but  it  cannot  increase 
the  amount  of  such  energy.  Moreover  the  Ma- 
chine as  such,  or  the  creative  idea  of  it,  splits  up 
into  a  vast  number  of  machines,  or  specialized 
applications  of  the  one  fundamental  mechanism. 
But  this  prodigious  mechanical  multiplicity  has 
been  reduced  to  a  few  simple  typical  machines, 
well  known  as  the  mechanical  Powers,  which, 
however,  can  be  brought  into  a  single  process. 
These  points  wc  may  elaborate  a  little. 

(1)  We  have  first  to  grasp  the  Machine  in  itself, 
as  it  is  in  its  universal  genetic  thought.  This  has 
been  repeatedly  stated :  the  Machine  is  the  trans- 
ferer of  impact,  or  of  energy,  as  this  is  often  called 
at  present ;  it  is  an  intermediary  between  some  im- 
pinging body  and  the  body  impinged  upon.  More- 
over it  is  an  artificial  thing,  usually  man-made, 
and  carries  his  purpose;  through  the  Machine  man 
deftly  turns  nature  against  nature.  The  kinds  of 
bodies  producing  impact  may  be  noticed.  The 
primal  machine-mover  was  the  human  organism 
which  can  generate  motion.  But  the  main  devel- 
opment of  machinery  has  been  to  relieve  man  more 
and  more  of  his  immediate  burden.  It  is  next  put 
upon  the  stronger  domesticated  animals  as  the 
horse  and   ox.    But  the  great  present  driver  of 


206  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

machinery  is  the  forces  of  Nature,  steam,  heat, 
and  especially  electricity.  The  Cosmos  is  a  huge 
reservoir  of  impinging  power,  which  the  Machine  is 
invoked  to  seize  and  to  utiHze.  The  puny  agent, 
man,  has  still  to  touch  the  button  in  order  to  set  in 
motion  the  mechanism  which  is  to  perform  for 
him  gigantiw  feats  of  work. 

(2)  We  may  summon  before  us  the  one  original 
primordial  Machine  and  watch  it  differentiating 
and  specializing  itself  in  all  the  tools,  weapons, 
implements  and  engines — in  fine  all  the  machines 
which  man  has  made  to  hitch  up  the  stray  forces 
of  Nature,  setting  them  to  do  his  work.  Thus  the 
conception  of  the  Machine  realizes  itself  and  keeps 
realizing  itself  million  fold  down  the  ages  in  huger 
and  huger  shapes.  New  ones  are  always  forthcom- 
ing in  answer  to  the  call  of  the  time,  which  as  be- 
fore said,  is  mechanically  minded,  and  old  ones  are 
thrown  aside,  being  transcended.  The  evolution 
of  the  Machine  in  its  agricultural,  mihtary,  naval, 
and  industrial  forms  would  be  a  good  mirror  of 
man's  social  development. 

(3)  The  indefinite  and  ever-increasing  diversity 
of  mechanical  appliances  must  be  somehow  brought 
back  to  unity.  Such  is  not  only  our  psychical 
need,  but  also  the  inner  movement  of  mechanism 
itself.  Accordingly  science  has  sought  to  reduce 
all  mechanical  multiplicity  to  six  different  ma- 
chines, the  supposed  prototypes  of  all  others,  the 
so-called  Mechanical  Powers. 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY,  207 

These  six  being  accepted  as  fundamental,  the 
question  at  once  comes  up  in  regard  to  their  order, 
which  has  been  variously  given  by  different  scient- 
ists. It  has  also  been  felt  that  these  six  are  too  many 
and  need  a  further  unification.  The  Lever  and  the 
Inclined  Piano  have  been  sometimes  regarded  as 
the  principal  Powers  of  the  six.  This  view  would 
seem  to  underestimate  the  Wheel  and  Axle  as  the 
circular  Machine.  But  without  discussing  further 
these  divergences  of  opinion,  we  shall  put  the  entire 
six  into  what  we  deem  their  true  process,  which  is 
of  three  main  forms,  or  stages. 

(a)  The  Lever  is  rightly  placed  first,  as  the 
simplest  in  form,  the  most  primitive,  and  indeed 
the  potential  one  of  the  Mechanical  Powers;  im- 
plicitly it  has  within  itself  all  the  rest,  and  may  be 
said  to  contain  the  germ  of  total  machinery.  It  is 
a  bar  or  rod  quite  inflexible  in  which  three  points 
are  specially  to  be  taken  into  account:  the  end 
where  the  impinging  force  is  applied,  usually 
called  the  Power  (P),  the  intermediate  point  at 
which  the  transference  of  this  Power  takes  place, 
the  Fulcrum  (F),  and  the  object  which  receives  the 
transferred  Power  known  familiarly  as  the  Weight 
(W).  The  elements  of  the  Lever  (P  F  W)  are, 
therefore,  three — the  active  impact  in  one  direc- 
tion (say  downward),  the  changed  impact  (say 
upward),  the  received  impact  on  the  resisting 
body — which  last  impact  is  a  return  to  the  first, 
though  changed  in  direction  through  the  media- 


208  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tion  of  the  second.  In  all  this  we  see  that  the 
Lever  is  the  simplest  sort  of  a  contrivance  to  direct 
the  force  of  an  impinging  body  from  one  line  of 
movement  to  another.  We  may  also  see  that  it 
performs  by  its  action  a  process:  the  given  force 
from  the  outside,  the  change  of  that  force  from  its 
path,  the  return  and  re-assertion  of  the  same  force 
as  changed. 

But  there  is  not  alone  a  transfer  of  force  through 
the  Lever,  there  can  be  also  an  increase  of  it.  The 
Power,  for  instance,  is  doubled  in  effect,  if  it  be 
twice  as  far  from  the  Fulcrum  as  is  the  Weight. 
Still  it  has  to  pay  for  such  increase  by  moving 
through  a  proportionately  greater  distance,  as  al- 
ready noted  of  the  Machine  generally.  Or  we  may 
say  that  Space  (or  Time)  is  exchanged  for  Power — 
which  is  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  all  mech- 
anism . 

In  the  ever  the  Fulcrum,  the  pivot  of  change, 
is  fixed,  and  in  one  way  or  other  rests  on  the 
earth  whose  inertia  or  resistance  it  utihzes  for  de- 
flecting the  original  Power  (say  from  downward  to 
upward).  The  earth,  then,  is  the  ultimate  medi- 
ator. Yet  in  this  act  the  earth  is  turned  against 
itself,  against  its  own  gravity  represented  by  the 
Weight.  So  in  the  final  thought  the  Lever  turns 
one  terrestrial  property  or  force  against  another. 
We  may  also  regard  this  as  the  germinal  function 
of  the  Machine. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  kinds  of  Levers; 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  209 

one  division  of  them  comes  from  the  different  po- 
sitions 'of  its  three  elements  (P  F  W) .  Then  there 
is  the  combined  or  compound  Lever.  But  these 
various  forms  we  shall  pass  over. 

(6)  What  comes  next  in  the  order  or  process  ? 
The  second  Mechanical  Power  is,  as  we  arrange 
this  subject,  the  Inclined  Plane,  in  which  the  Ful- 
crum is  movable  as  the  Weight  is  rolled  up  the 
incHne.  The  simplest  form  of  this  mechanical 
contrivance  is  seen  in  a  plank  slanting  from  the 
end  of  a  wagon,  up  which  plank  a  barrel  is  rolled 
into  the  vehicle.  The  Power  which  moves  the 
Weight  is  twofold :  that  of  impact  and  that  of  the 
Inclined  Plane,  which  partly  supports  the  Weight, 
but  whose  upbearing  force  is  ultimately  that  of 
the  earth.  It  is  to  be  noted  then,  in  the  present 
case,  that  the  Power  is  divided  and  that  the  Ful- 
crum is  continually  separated  from  its  place 
in  its  movement  up  the  incline.  For  the  Fulcrum, 
we  must  recollect,  is  the  point  at  whi^h  the  Power 
has  its  thrust  changed  and  is  directed  upon  the 
Weight.  In  the  Wedge  the  whole  Inclined  Plane 
moves  against  the  resisting  body  which  it  may 
raise  in  opposition  to  gravity  and  split  open  against 
cohesion.  The  impact  may  be  a  blow  or  a  steady 
push,  whose  force  is  changed  in  direction  at  the 
point  where  the  impinging  Wedge  meets  the  ob- 
struction. Thus  the  Fulcrum  here  too  is  movable. 
The  Wedge  is  often  a  double  Inclined  Plane  for 
increased  effect.     The  Wedge   has  a  wide  applica- 

14 


210-  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tion  and  is  of  many  sorts.  Knives,  pins,  needles, 
nails,  scissors,  all  cutting  and  pointed  implements 
are  wedges.  The  Wedge  is  a  movable  Inclined 
Plane  but  in  a  right  line  on  the  whole ;  but  now  we 
come  to  an  Inclined  Plane  which  is  curvilineal  and 
moves  in  a  continuous  spiral,  the  Screw.  The  Ful- 
crum is  not  only  movable  from  point  to  point  but 
is  at  every  point  in  the  thread  of  the  Screw,  it 
works- along  the  entire  spiral,  thus  it  has  become 
general  in  this  sphere  of  the  Inclined  Plane,  occu- 
pying it  everywhere.  Moreover  the  Screw  is  really 
a  double  IncHned  Plane  with  thread  and  groove. 

Thus  we  observe  that  among  the  Mechanical 
Powers  the  Inclined  Plane  takes  three  forms  which 
have  the  incline  in  common,  but  which  are  distin- 
guished by  the  Fulcrum  moving  on  the  incline 
from  point  to  point  in  succession,  and  then  being 
moved  by  the  incline  from  point  to  point  in  suc- 
cession, and  finally  moving  on  the  incline  at  every 
point  and  at  the  same  time.  Thus  the  Inclined 
Plane  passes  from  the  rectilinear  to  the  curvi- 
linear form,  and  with  its  spiral  is  evidently  seek- 
ing the  circle,  which  now  appears  in  a  new  Mechan- 
ical Power. 

(c)  In  what  we  call  the  process  of  the  Mechan- 
ical Powers  we  have  come  to  the  third  main  stage 
or  form,  that  of  the  Wheel  with  its  rotatory  or 
completely  circular  movement.  The  Pulley  is 
simply  a  Wheel  turning  on  a  pivot  (or  Fulcrum) 
which  changes  the   direction  of  the  Power  exerted 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  211 

usually  in  hoisting  the  Weight.  The  Pulley  is 
combined  diversely  into  a  system  of  Pulleys. 

The  Wheel  and  Axle  is  properly  two  wheels  of 
different  diameters.  -The  large  one  receives  the 
Power  and  may  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  circular 
or  universal  Lever  whose  impact  is  continuous. 
The  small  wheel  or  the  axle  is  the  circular  Fulcrum 
moving  with  the  large  wheel,  but  reversing  the  di- 
rection by  means  of  the  reversed  rope,  which  usu- 
ally lifts  the  Weight  from  below.  The  greater  the 
difference  between  the  diameters  of  the  two  wheels, 
the  greater  the  Power  but  the  slower  its  move- 
ment. The  considerable  diversity  of  forms  of  the 
Wheel  and  Axle  is  seen  in  the  windlass,  the  caps- 
tan, the  hundreds  of  hoisting  machines  with  com- 
plicated wheel-work.  The  wheeled  vehicle  with  its 
two  or  four  wheels  turning  on  fixed  axes  by  means 
of  the  applied  Power,  but  changed  in  direction  by 
the  resistance  of  the  earth  might  be  called  a  third 
form  of  these  circular  Mechanical  Powers. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  Wheel  and  Axle  is 
the  Lever  made  complete  or  universal,  the  latter's 
partial  movement  through  an  arc  becomes  a  full 
circle  and  continuous;  moreover  the  force  can  be 
drawn  off  in  any  direction  by  a  system  of  wheels 
large  and  small.  Also  the  radius  of  the  Wheel  and 
the  radius  of  the  Axle  are  comparable  to  the  long 
and  short  arms  of  the  Lever  both  in  character  and 
efficiency.  But  the  one  is  a  particular  and  the 
other  is  a  universal  Lever,  which  thus   has  run  its 


212  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

course,  and  therewith  has   brought  to  a  conclusion 
the  process  of  the  Mechanical  Powers. 

In  this  process  we  should  emphasize  that  the 
pivotal  point  is  the  Fulcrum,  truly  the  pivot  of  the 
mechanical  system.  The  chief  object  of  the  Ma- 
chine is  to  change  the  direction  of  Power  or  of  the 
force  of  impact.  This  change  takes  place  at  and 
through  the  Fulcrum,  whose  ultimate  mission  is  to 
direct  one  terrestrial  energy  against  another,  to 
turn  Nature  against  Nature.  Now  in  the  Lever 
this  Fulcrum  is  in  one  position,  essentially  fixed; 
but  in  the  Inclined  Plane  it  becomes  movable 
though  variously  movable  throughout  the  three 
different  Inclined  Planes ;  finally  in  the  Wheel  and 
Axle  it  is  fixed  in  its  movable  round  or  circle 
(different  from  the  spiral  of  the  Screw) .  Thus  the 
Fulcrum  passes  from  its  simple  fixity  to  one  point 
in  the  Lever,  through  its  movability  on  a  contin- 
uous line  in  the  Inclined  Plane,  to  its  final  fixity 
in  one  self-returning  circular  movement  in  the 
Wheel  and  Axle,  which  movement  is  now  not 
merely  continuous  for  a  given  distance,  as  in  the 
spiral,  but  perpetual  as  far  as  the  Machine  is  con- 
cerned, which  has  no  end  in  itself  (though  it  is 
limited  externally  by  the  work  to  be  done),  while 
the  rounded  Screw  with  its  spiral  comes  to  an  end 
in  itself.  Thus  the  ideal  circle  of  the  Mechanical 
Powers  has  completed  itself  in  the  real  circle  and 
has  manifested  itself  to  the  senses — which  is  the 
way  of  Nature. 


THE  IMPINGING  BODY.  213 

The  movement  of  the  Mechanical  Powers  is  the 
movement  of  the  Lever  from  its  first  hmited  par- 
ticular stage  to  its  universal  form  in  its  circu- 
larity. The  name  of  the  old  Greek,  Archimedes, 
is  pecuHarly  connected  with  the  Lever,  which  may 
be  deemed  the  germ  or  cell  of  the  Mechanical 
Powers .  As  the  first  and  simplest  machine,  it  can  be 
taken  as  man's  starting-point  in  the  conquest  of 
Nature.  Man,  too,  has  a  body  impinging  and  im- 
pinged upon,  so  he  is  involved  in  the  great  battle 
of  Impact,  in  which  he  has  not  only  to  defend 
himself  but  to  conquer.  The  impinging  Body 
thus  plays  a  great  part  in  human  life.  It  is  indeed 
dialectical  or  self-undoing,  for,  universally  consid- 
ered, it  is  in  a  perpetual  assault  upon  itself,  seek- 
ing really  to  overcome  itself.  Now  it  is  this 
property  of  body's  self-undoing  that  man  takes  ad- 
vantage of  through  a  cunning  contrivance  called  a 
machine,  which  seizes  upon  and  controls  impact, 
that  is  controls  body  destroying  or  transforming 
body.  All  agriculture,  all  manufacturing,  all  en- 
gineering, primarily  set  one  body  to  impinging 
upon  others,  make  them  fight  as  it  were.  Herein 
we  may  also  glimpse  the  fact  that  the  function  of 
man  in  the  present  sphere  is  to  get  control  of  this 
dialectic  of  Nature,  and  to  direct  it  toward  fulfill- 
ing his  ends.  He  did  not  originally  beget  her  du- 
alism, from  which  springs  all  hor  energy — that 
came,  according  to  our  view,  from  the   Pampsy- 


214  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

chosis — but  he  must  master  it  or  be  pushed  by  it 
to  the  wall. 

The  final  act  of  the  impinging  body  as  machine 
was  to  go  back  to  the  body  pressing  immediately 
upon  the  earth  and  to  hoist  it,  or  to  separate  it 
from  its  unity  with  the  earth.  But  the  machine 
as  well  as  the  pressing  body  rests  upon  the  earth; 
thus  it  has  to  undo  in  another  what  it  itself 
is  doing.  The  machine  counteracts  gravity  in 
the  body  while  obeying  gravity  in  its  own  case. 
Such  is  the  inner  contradiction  in  all  machinery, 
which  is  next  to  be  solved ;  both  the  machine  and 
its  burden  have  a  common  principle  in  terrestrial 
gravity.  Truly  the  whole  realm  of  imj^inging  Bod- 
ies, which  we  have  just  passed  through,  has  in  all 
its  opposition  an  underlying  obedience  to  the 
earth's  attraction.  In  fact  we  shall  find  that  just 
through  this  common  attraction  shown  in  their 
weight,  do  bodies  get  their  force  of  impact,  or  their 
power  of  collision.  Thus  the  separation  of  this 
second  stage  of  the  Particularized  Cosmos — that 
of  the  Impinging  Body — is  overcome,  and  moves 
of  itself  into  a  new  unitary  stage,  that  of  the  Grav- 
itating Body.  For  all  colliding  terrestrial  Bodies 
gravitate  in  common,  even  while  colhding,  toward 
the  center  of  the  Earth,  and  thus  show  their  one 
basic  principle,  to  which  they  will  return. 


THE  GRA-f'ITATING  BODY,  215 

III. 

The  Gravitating  Body. 

It  is  in  order  now  to  go  back  to  the  Moving  Body 
(which  was  considered  in  the  first  section  of  the 
Particularized  Cosmos),  and  to  note  that  it  is  a 
Gravitating  Body.  That  is,* the  motion  of  Body 
has  its  ground  in  Gravitation,  that  force  or  power 
by  which  every  material  particle  in  the  physical 
universe  is  drawn  toward  every  other  })article,  ac- 
cording to  the  well-known  law  of  Newton.  What- 
ever original  or  elemental  Motion  may  be  regarded, 
a  Body  moves  through  the  attraction  of  some  other 
Body  or  Bodies.  To  be  sure,  it  can  be  relatively 
brought  to  rest  by  the  same  force.  But  that  which 
we  have  called  the  Particularized  Cosmos  is  a  vast 
complex  of  intergravitating  Bodies,  great  and  small, 
of  which  the  earth,  with  its  environing  field  of  at- 
traction, is  but  a  minute  speck.  Still  it  is  that 
which  we  are  now  mainly  to  consider.  So  we  re- 
turn, as  it  were,  to  the  Moving  Body  and  seek  to 
find  the  ground  of  movement  in  this  mutual  Gravi- 
tation of  the  incorporate  universe.  We  may  here 
add  that  even  this  ground  is  not  ultimate,  for  in 
Gravitation  we  pre-suppose  both  Motion  and  Mat- 
ter, to  be  primordial  and  elemental,  as  already  set 
forth;  still,  these  original  twins  of  Nature  must 
likewise  be  derived,  must  be  shown  in  their  par- 
entage. 


216  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

At  present,  however,  we  are  to  consider  Gravita- 
tion as  the  universal  interconnecting  power  of  the 
Cosmos  particularized  in  an  endless  diversity  of 
Bodies.  It  is  universal;  it  cannot  be  deflected  or 
influenced  from  without,  like  Heat,  Light  and  Elec- 
tricity, for  instance.  It  is  eternal,  it  cannot  be 
generated  or  destroyed,  does  not  arise  or  decline 
anywhere  in  the  Pancosmos,  except  according  to 
its  law.  It  goes  through  all  Bodies  in  its  path, 
without  increase  or  diminution,  quite  as  if  nothing 
were  there.  It  is  instantaneous,  defying  attempts 
to  measure  it  hitherto;  Laplace  has  a  calculation 
that  it  must  move  at  least  50  millions  times  faster 
than  light.  It  is  not  reflected,  refracted,  or  dif- 
fracted; as  universal  it  is  inexhaustible  and  never 
fails  to  act  and  to  act  completely.  Its  action  is, 
therefore,  not  intermittent  or  capricious,  but  is 
subject  to  unvarying  Law — it  works  upon  all  Bodies 
directly  as  their  masses  and  inversely  as  the  squares 
of  their  distances.  Space  interjected  between  ma- 
terial objects  has  thus  a  power  of  lessening  their 
Gravitation ;  it  separates  and  clogs  the  great  uniter 
of  the  physical  universe.  Space  is,  accordingly, 
more  elemental  than  Gravitation,  which  is  really 
the  struggle  to  overcome  the  spatial  separation  of 
the  Cosmos. 

This  thought  brings  us  to  consider  that  the  Grav- 
itating Body,  which  is  now  our  special  topic,  is  a 
return  out  of  separation,  particularly  separation 
from  the  earth.     Moreover,  such  a  return  is  rela- 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  217 

tively  free,  that  is,  the  Body  goes  of  itself  toward 
the  center  of  the  earth,  the  obstacle  being  removed. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  separate  it  from  the  earth 
requires  the  special  exertion  of  a  separative  force, 
such  as  a  machine  can  produce,  for  instance.  Im- 
pact we  have  seen  to  be  the  world  of  colliding 
Bodies  whose  forces  are  directed  one  against  the 
other.  The  Impinging  Body  is  in  conflict,  ulti- 
mately in  conflict  with  the  unity  of  Gravitation. 
The  Gravitating  Body,  accordingly,  is  the  over- 
coming of  the  conflicts  of  the  Impinging  Body. 
Underneath  all  pressures,  collisions,  impacts,  we 
have  always  Gravitation  lurking,  as  it  were,  and 
secretly  active.  But  now  it  is  to  become  explicit 
and  to  show  itself  controlling  Bodies  in  their  own 
right. 

The  Gravitating  Body  will,  therefore,  return  to 
its  source,  to  mother  Earth,  whence  it  originally 
came.  To  be  sure  it  will  be  stopped  before  it 
reaches  the  terrestrial  center,  which,  if  it  once  could 
attain,  it  would  cease  to  be  corporeal.  The  Earth, 
too,  is  a  Body  and  asserts  itself  as  such.  Hence  the 
attempt  of  the  Gravitating  Body  to  drop  down  to 
its  source  docs  not  succeed  fully ;  the  separation  of 
the  two  still  remains,  even  if  quiescent  and  poten- 
tial. But  it  shows  the  striving,  the  mighty  striv- 
ing of  the  luii verse  to  become  one,  even  through 
separation.  It  is,  therefore,  remanded  to  its  place 
in  Natur(>,  which  is  the  second,  or  separat've  stage 
of  the  All-Self,  as  has  been  fret^uently  stated  before. 


218  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Gravitation,  accordingly,  presupposes  the  uni- 
versal separation  into  the  Particularized  Cosmos, 
which  it  aspires  somehow  to  re-unite.  We  shall 
hence  esteem  it  supremely  the  cosmical  force  di- 
rected against  the  world's  original  diremption, 
manifesting  Nature's  negation  of  her  own  negative. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  shall  meet  later  with  many 
a  protest  against  the  unity  of  Gravitation.  A^Tiat 
else  is  light  raying  out  in  opposition  to  attraction? 
For  this  reason,  among  others,  there  will  arise  in 
opposition  to  the  Cosmos  with  its  Gravitation  the 
Diacosmos,  wliich,  however,  lies  quite  a  distance 
ahead  of  us. 

At  present,  then,  we  shall  confine  our  look  to  the 
Gravitating  Body,  which  will  bring  to  the  surface 
a  succession  of  movements  which,  closely  scanned, 
will  be  seen  to  form  a  process  in  itself  with  three 
stages.  The  Body  under  the  influence  of  Gravita- 
tion will  first  fall  simply  toward  the  center,  of  com'se 
without  getting  there ;  next  we  shall  see  it  under 
given  conditions  falling  and  then  partially  rising 
in  an  arc  (the  pendulum);  finally  this  arc  will  be 
extended  by  returning  into  itself  and  thus  becom- 
ing circular — wherein  the  fall  of  the  Body  may  be 
seen  to  have  rounded  itself  out  into  its  complete- 
ness. From  this  point  of  view  the  Body  no  longer 
falls  into  collision,  but  rather  out  of  it,  and  the 
Particularized  Cosmos,  the  realm  of  conflict  incor- 
porate, is  brought  to  a  close. 

More  briefly  we  may  designate  these  divisions  of 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  219 

the  Gravitating  Body  as  follows:  (I)  the  Falling 
Body,  (I'l)  the  Oscillating  Body,  (III)  the  Rotating 
Body.  These  heads  we  shall  expand  in  a  little  de- 
tail, trying  to  see  them  not  merely  as  separate  but 
as  inter-related  in  a  process. 

We  may  again  emphasize  that  this  whole  sphere 
of  the  Particularized  Cosmos  is  brought  to  rest  or 
to  harmony  in  the  Gravitating  Cosmos  after  the 
many  collisions  of  the  Impinging  Cosmos,  which 
has  just  been  set  forth.  So  we  behoki  here  a  move- 
ment from  the  primal  identity  of  Body  through  its 
separation  and  struggle  to  its  final  unity  through 
Gravitation.  Such  is  the  process,  and  we  shall  see 
it  repeating  itself  in  the  various  stages  of  the  Grav- 
itating Body,  which  are  now  to  be  given. 

I.  The  Falling  Body.  We  conceive  the  Earth 
with  its  controlling  sphere  of  influence  to  have  the 
power  of  drawing  toward  its  center  all  smaller  bod- 
ies. They  fall  to  the  terrestrial  surface  from  a 
given  point  at  which  they  may  be  regarded  as  in  a 
state  of  rest.  The  fall  of  the  Body  is  looked  at 
from  one  side,  which,  however,  calls  for  its  counter- 
part, its  rise — the  latter  being  against  Gravitation. 
The  bullet  of  a  gun  shot  directly  upward  stops  and 
descends,  manifesting  in  its  free  movement  the 
law  of  the  Falling  Body.  Strong  force  had  to  be 
used  to  send  the  bullet  up,  that  is,  to  produce  the 
separation  from  the  Earth.  But  this  force  is  over- 
come gradually,  and  the  same  force  in  the  same 
gradation  is  given  to  the  bullet  in  its  descent  by 


220  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Gravitation,  which  thus  offers  a  line  on  which  it 
can  be  measured. 

And  now  we  are  to  see  this  simple  fall  of  a  Body 
passing  through  three  essential  stages  which  form 
a  process,  or  a  psychosis. 

1.  Identity  of  Fall  The  first  fact  of  Falling 
Bodies  is  that  each  and  all  descend  eciually  to  the 
earth.  That  is,  all  Bodies  gravitate  identically  with 
the  same  power  of  attraction ;  whatever  be  their 
size,  shape,  composition,  they  fall  through  equal 
spaces  in  equal  times,  if  left  purely  to  them- 
selves, and  unhampered  by  no  outside  opposition — 
which  is  experimentally  shown  in  the  vacuum. 
Thus  every  separate  Body  is  the  same  in  its  sepa- 
ration, and  manifests  this  sameness.  Such  we  may 
deem  the  primal  identity  of  the  corporeal  Fall 
throughout  the  physical  universe.  Yet  this  Fall 
has  its  expression  in  law. 

The  velocity  of  a  Body  falling  to  the  earth  is 
identical  whatever  its  mass.  If  one  Body  is  of 
a  certain  mass,  and  another  Body  is  of  one- 
fourth  of  the  same  mass,  both  will  have  the  same 
velocity  of  descent.  This  was  shown  by  Galileo  in 
his  famous  experiment  of  dropping  two  balls  of 
unequal  masses  from  the  top  of  the  tower  of  Pisa. 
The  so-called  Hght  bodies  are  obstructed  in  their 
fall  by  the  resistance  of  the  air;  but  in  a  vacuum 
the  feather  and  a  nickel  will  descend  in  the  same 
time.  So  we  come  to  the  conclusion  that  neither 
weight  nor  density  can   make  any  real  difference 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  221 

in  the  velocity  of  Falling  Bodies.  The  greater  the 
mass  of  the  Body,  the  greater  is  the  Earth's  pull 
on  it;  gravitation  appears  to  adjust  itself  to  what  is 
required  of  it,  exerting  itself  more  or  less  accord- 
ing to  the  quantity  of  Matter.  On  the  other  hand 
all  Bodies  make  a  push  equally  for  the  earth  irre- 
spective of  their  properties — be  they  dense  or  rare, 
heavy  or  light.  In  this  regard  they  are  all  alike, 
being  ultimately  of  the  one  common  Matter, 
which  strives  to  overcome  its  separation.  In  this 
striving  the  largest  and  the  least,  the  thinnest  and 
the  thickest,  are  one,  and  show  such  oneness  in 
their  common  and  indeed  equal  rush  for  home.  Ac- 
cordingly every  Falling  Body  has  one  and  the  same 
speed  earthward.  Such  is  the  universal  character 
manifesting  itself  amid  all  their  other  diversities. 
The  quantity  or  quality  of  their  Matter  makes  no 
difference  in  their  Gravitation.  And  yet  there  is  a 
difference  in  their  sphere,  which  is  now  to  appear. 
2,  Difference  of  Fall.  When  Time  enters,  es- 
pecially when  it  enters  Space,  division  and  differ- 
ence go  along  with  it  (as  we  have  already  seen  in 
discussing  Space  and  Time,  see  preceding  p.  59, 
etc) .  The  fall  of  Body  is  spatially  the  same,  but 
gets  different  with  each  successive  moment,  be- 
coming more  rapid.  Thus  into  the  identit}^  of  the 
fall  difference  is  introduced,  which,  however,  does 
not  thereby  escape  law.  All  corporeal  falls  are 
alike,  but  each  fall  is  different  within  itself.  StiU 
this  difference  has  its  own  norm  of  being. 


222  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

As  the  velocity  of  Falling  Bodies  is  universal, 
the  mind  seeks  an  expression  of  that  universahty 
in  a  law.  As  they  all  fly  to  the  earth  at  the  same 
rate,  what  is  this  rate?  Or  what  is  the  Space 
fallen  through  measured  in  units  of  Time?  For 
these  two  cosmical  elements  (Space  and  Time)  are 
now  to  obtain  measurement,  that  is,  they  are  to 
receive  the  thitd  element  of  Motion,  Quantity  (see 
p.  70,  etc.),  thus  becoming  definite  and  capable  of 
being  handled.  Over  How-much  of  Space  in  How- 
much  of  Time  is  the  demand  which  brings  Quan- 
tity (How-muchness)  into  the  fall  of  the  Body,  or 
into  its  special  Motion. 

This  law  may  be  stated  thus:  ''The  Space  passed 
through  by  a  Falling  Body  in  a  given  unit  of  Time 
(say  a  second)  is  proportional  to  the  square  of 
that  Time." 

Our  first  reflection  upon  this  law  is  that  in  it 
we  find  the  three  primordial  cosmical  elements: 
Motion  (the  fall) ,  Matter  (the  body) ,  and  Measure. 
Still  further,  as  it  is  Motion  specially  which  is 
measured  in  the  fall  of  the  Body,  we  observe  in  the 
formulation  of  the  law  the  process  of  the  three 
original  stages  of  Motion — Space  (the  quantifiable) 
Time  (the  quantifying)  and  Quantity  (the  quanti- 
fied). We  see  that  the  Space  and  Time  of  Motion 
are  incomplete  and  indeed  chaotic  till  reduced  to 
the  order  of  Quantity. 

The  Space  traversed  by  a  Falhng  Body  in  a  sec- 
ond of  Time  is  a  little  more  than  16  feet,  (stated 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  223 

exactly  16.09) ;  in  two  seconds  it  will  be  four  times 
as  much',  and  in  three  seconds  nine  times  as  much. 
Let  1,  2,  3,  4  represent  the  times,,  then  1,  4,  9,  16 
will  represent  the  spaces.  It  is  to  be  noted  that 
both  Space  and  Time  have  already  their  own  spe- 
cial measurements  in  feet  and  minutes,  which  are 
presupposed  in  the  Measure  of  the  Motion  of  Mat- 
ter, here  the  velocity  of  a-  Falling  Body.  Also  to 
be  noted  is  the  fact  that  the  point  or  unit  of  Time 
(succession)  is  correlated  or  proportioned  in  the 
squared  Space  (extension). 

3.  Unity  of  Fall.  The  preceding  variations  or 
differences  in  the  one  fall  will  be  found  to  have 
their  common  principle  or  their  unity,  which  is 
also  expressed  by  a  law.  This  is  seen  in  the  fact 
that  the  fall  of  the  Body,  while  always  accelerat- 
ing and  thus  varying,  shows  the  same  amount  of 
acceleration  at  the  end  of  every  second  of  the  fall. 
Thus  under  all  the  changes  of  the  falling  Body 
runs  a  unity ;  we  may  say  that  through  its  differ- 
ence and  separation  moves  a  return  to  identity, 
which,  however,  is  not  the  first  immediate  identity 
(the  simple  sameness  of  the  fall  of  all  Bodies),  but 
a  new  identity  mediated  through  their  difference. 
This  we  may  illustrate  by  some  details. 

In  the  regular  treatises  we  find  the  law  of 
the  increase  of  velocity  of  a  Falling  Body.  This 
may  be  stated  as  follows:  "The  velocity  gained 
by  a  Falling  Body  is  proportional  to  the  duration 
of  its  fall."     Nowthe  velocity  gained  at  the  end  of 


224  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

one  second  is  32  feet,  at  the  end  of  two  seconds  is 
64  feet,  at  the  end  of  three  seconds  is  96  feet,  at 
the  end  of  four  seconds  is  128  feet.  In  these  cases 
we  observe  that  the  duration  of  the  fall  in  seconds 
is  multiplied  by  32  feet,  which  amount  gives  the 
velocity  gained. 

Thus  the  acceleration  by  gravity  produced  upon 
a  Body  freely  falling  to  the  earth  is  a  constant 
quantity  (32  feet)  during  any  number  of  seconds, 
but  the  velocity  itself  varies  with  that  number. 
The  Body  gravitates  toward  the  earth  with  the 
increment  of  Motion  every  moment,  never  losing 
what  speed  it  has  before  gained.  Thus  the  velocity 
increases  regularly  through  all  the  differences  of 
time. 

If  we  put  together  the  foregoing  three  state- 
ments about  Falling  Bodies,  we  observe  in  the 
first  case  the  identity  of  Gravitation — all  Bodies 
fall  equally,  moving  through  equal  spaces  in  equal 
times ;  in  the  second  case  they  fall  through  unequal 
successive  spaces  in  equal  successive  times  (wherein 
Space  and  Time  are  both  divided) ,  in  the  third 
case  the  identity  of  Gravitation  is  again  asserted, 
but  in  regard  to  its  increment  of  velocity — its  ac- 
celeration is  the  same,  though  successive  velocities 
increase  in  successive  times.  Or  more  briefly: 
(1)  all  Bodies  gravitate  alike;  (2)  each  Body  grav- 
itates differently  at  each  different  moment;  (3) 
each  Body  gravitates  with  the  same  increment  of 
velocity  earthward.     All   Gravitating  Bodies  are, 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  225 

therefore,  one  in  their  gravitation,  separative  in 
velocities,  but  one  again  in  their  acceleration  or  in- 
crement of  speed. 

It  is  evident  that  the  laws  of  the  Falling  Body 
imply,  though  they  do  not  explicitly  formulate, 
universal  Gravitation.  Galileo  (1564-1643)  was 
the  first  man  to  prove  experimentally  the  laws  of 
the  Falling  Body.  He  very  dexterously  employed 
an  inclined  plane  in  making  his  discoveries.  All 
three  of  the  foregoing  propositions  belong  to  him, 
but  he  confined  the  Falling  Body  to  the  earth.  It 
was  left  to  N(>wton  to  prove  that  the  fall  of  the 
Body  was  universal,  that  it  was  true  of  moon,  sun, 
and  planets.  Thus  he  rose  from  gravity  to  gravi- 
tation, from  the  Earth  to  the  Cosmos. 

What  next?  The  fall  is  evidently  tlie  first 
and  simplest  action  of  the  Gravitating  Body, 
which  therein  moves  directly  toward  the  one  center, 
the  terrestrial.  But  now  a  new  center  is  brought 
to  light,  the  so-called  center  of  suspension,  which 
also  determines  the  fall  of  the  Body,  though  in  an 
opposite  way.  Thus  the  Gravitating  Body  is  no 
longer  single-centered  and  simple  in  its  fall,  but 
double-centered  and  dual;  it  moves  down  and  up, 
to  and  from  each  center  in  succession.  In  other 
words  it  oscillates,  manifesting  in  reality  what  we 
have  already  seen  ideally  in  the  movement  of  ele- 
mental Time  (see  p.  64).  The  primordial  oscilla- 
tion of  Nature  is  just  now,  in  fact  is  just  the  Now, 
which    is    always    going  on  and  coming  back  to 

15 


226  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

itself.  This  is  what  we  are  next  to  see  embodied 
in  our  Particularized  Cosmos. 
II.  The  Oscillating  Body.  This  is,  in  general, 
the  pendulum,  which  takes  a  great  many  forms. 
But  the  typical  form  of  it  has  three  elements:  the 
center  of  suspension,  the  separating  line  of  suspen- 
sion (thread,  wire,  etc.),  the  object  suspended  (the 
bob  of  the  pendulum)  which  moves  freely  about  the 
center  of  suspension.  The  pendulum  may  be 
said,  therefore,  in  its  motion  to  describe  the  arc  of 
a  circle  with  a  given  radius  from  a  central  point. 
When  it  is  at  rest  the  three  centers  are  in  line — 
the  center  of  gravity  of  the  earth  and  that  of  the 
bob  with  the  center  of  suspension. 

This  line  of  gravitation,  or  of  equilibrium,  is 
broken  when  the  bob  is  lifted  up  and  allowed  to 
drop  of  itself  toward  the  earth.  But  the  result 
will  be  the  curvilinear  oscillation,  not  the  recti- 
linear fall.  Terrestrial  gra\'ity  will  pull  the 
bob  down  to  the  line  of  equilibrium,  then  its  own 
inertia  will  carry  it  upward  against  gravity  till  the 
latter  overcomes  it  when  it  descends  on  the.  same 
path  but  in  an  opposite  direction.  Again  it  will 
sweep  upward  beyond  the  vertical  line  of  the  three 
determining  centers  and  then  return,  but  always 
with  diminished  energy,  till  gravity  at  last  over- 
comes it  and  settles  it  in  the  line  of  equilibrium. 
These  arcuate  motions  of  the  pendulum  are  called 
its  oscillations  (generally  the  word  oscillation 
means  the  complete  sweep    going    and    return- 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  227 

ing,  but  in  French  writers  it  means  the  movement 
in  one  direction  only,  and  the  total  is  called  a 
double  oscillation)  • 

Thus  the  Falling  Body  becomes  the  Oscillating 
Body  when  it  is  determined  from  two  opposing 
centers,  that  of  suspension  and  that  of  the  earth; 
the  one  keeps  pulling  it  down  and  the  other  keeps 
pulhng  it  back.  Such  is  the  ])rimal  dualism  of  os- 
cillation, which  is  a  kind  of  compromise  between 
the  antagonistic  forces.  Then  the  third  force  plays 
into  the  motion :  the  inertia  of  the  bob  which  at 
first  unites  with  gravity  and  then  turns  against  it 
toward  the  center  of  suspension.  The  oscillation 
is  the  very  sign  of  doubt,  of  fluctuating  from  side 
to  side  between  two  motive  energies.  The  Falling 
Body  shows  no  such  dubitation,  no  such  twofold- 
ness  in  its  action;  it  goes  straight  for  the  terres- 
trial center  without  turning  back  upon  itself. 

At  this  point  another  variation  shows  itself.  On 
the  equator,  which  is  bulged,  a  pendulum  is  farther 
from  the  earth's  center  than  at  the  poles,  which 
are  flattened;  the  result  is  that  it  beats  more  rap- 
idly in  the  latter  case.  It  was  Richer,  a  French 
astronomer,  who  first  made  this  important  obser- 
vation in  1G71,  when  he  journeyed  from  Paris  to 
Cayenne;  in  the  latter  place,  which  is  near  the 
equator,  he  found  that  his  accurate  Parisian  clock 
was  losing  two  minutes  and  a  half  daily.  Huy- 
gens,  and  after  him  more  lully,  Newton,  showed 
the  right   cause  of  this   phenomenon.     Thus  the 


228  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

pendulum  can  be  used  to  determine  the  form  of 
the  earth.  A  good  clock  carried  from  the  equator 
to  the  poles  will  indicate  by  the  increased  rapidity 
of  its  oscillations  a  continual  alteration  of  the 
sphericity  of  the  globe. 

Now,  this  oscillation  of  Body  will  likewise  have 
its  process  quite  similar  to  the  fall  of  Body,  and 
will  be  expressed  in  the  same  general  categories — 
simple  identity,  difference,  concrete  unity  By 
the  older  physicists  the  pendulum  is  called  the  funi- 
pendulous  Body,  as  if  it  were  suspended  by  a  rope 
and  swinging.  Its  three  main  phases  we  shall 
briefly  note. 

1.  Identity  of  Oscillation.  Every  material  Body 
is  oscillatory;  it  is  not  only  in  Time  but  is  Time — 
Time  incorporate  and  phenomenal.  Herein  all 
Bodies  are  identical,  different  as  they  may  other- 
wise be  in  substance,  form,  mass. 

The  time  of  the  oscillation  does  not  depend  on 
the  substance  of  which  the  pendulum  is  made. 
Lighter  wood  or  heavier  metal  will  produce  equal 
beats.  In  a  vacuum  all  matter  will  oscillate  alike. 
This  is  similar  to  the  first  proposition  concerning  a 
Falling  Body ;  neither  weight  nor  density  can  make 
any  difference  in  the  time  of  the  fall.  Both  facts 
are  results  of  the  same  principle  of  Gravitation: 
its  action  is  the  same  upon  every  particle  of  Mat- 
ter in  the  universe. 

And  yet  difference  will  enter  into  the  oscillatory 
movement  of  each  and  every  pendulum,  though 
all  are  ahke  in  being  oscillatory. 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  229 

2.  Diffeft^ence  of  Oscillation.  At  what  point  does 
this  separation  come  in?  Each  individual  pendu- 
lum changes  within  itself,  according  as  it  is  made 
longer  or  shorter.  Its  beat,  we  say,  is  faster  or 
slower;  the  difference  again  lies  in  Time  ever  di- 
viding into  moments,  to  which  the  pendulum 
shows  a  pecuhar  adjustment,  and  of  which  indeed 
it  is  a  unique,  visible  manifestation.  Here,  too, 
there  is  the  law  expressed  in  Measure  or  mathe- 
matically. 

When  pendulums  are  of  different  lengths,  their 
times  of  oscillation  are  proportional  to  the  square- 
roots  of  their  lengths.  For  instance,  a  pendulum 
beating  seconds  is  about  39  inches  long;  in  order 
to  beat  half  seconds  it  would  be  one-fourth  as 
long;  in  order  to  beat  quarter  seconds  it  would 
have  to  be  one-sixteenth  as  long  (about  2.44 
inches). 

Thus  the  units  of  increase  in  the  oscillation  re- 
quire the  corresponding  units  of  increase  in  the 
lengths  of  the  pendulum  to  he  squared.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  a  pendulum  of  an  hour's  os- 
cillation would  have  to  be  some  8,000  miles  long, 
equal  to  the  earth's  diameter  about.  If  we  com- 
pare this  law  with  the  second  law  of  Falling  Bod- 
ies, we  find  again  that  the  increment  of  Time  de- 
mands the  square  of  corresponding  increment  of 
Space;  the  times  of  the  oscillation  being  1,  2,  3,  4, 
the  lengths  of  the  pendulum  will  bo  1,  4,  9,  16. 

But  with  all  this  variation  and  difference  in  the 


230  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

oscillations  of  the  one  pendulum,  they  have  their 
underlying  common  principle,  they  show  a  unity 
which  is  best  conceived  as  a  return  out  of  the 
foregoing  stage  of  separation  into  a  new  identity, 
or  a  concrete  unity  which  contains  difference. 

3.  Unity  of  Oscillation.  Every  oscillation  of 
the  same  pendulum  is  made  in  the  same  time ;  if 
it  beats  seconds,  every  beat  is  a  second.  Thus  a 
uniformity  penetrates  and  orders  all  the  diversity 
of  oscillation,  which  may  diminish  in  amplitude 
but  keeps  up  the  same  duration.  This  is  known 
in  Physics  as  the  principle  of  isochronism,  which  is 
usually  put  first  without  regard  to  its  stage  in  the 
process  of  the  oscillatory  Body. 

The  above  Unity  of  Oscillation  finds  expression 
in  a  law  which  may  be  stated :  The  times  of  oscil- 
lation are  equal  in  the  same  pendulum;  that  is,  its 
oscillations  are  isochronous.  These  may  diminish 
in  amplitude,  say  from  four  degrees  to  a  fraction 
of  a  degree  before  equilibrium;  but  their  times  will 
remain  constant.  In  other  words,  the  period  of  a 
pendulum  does  not  depend  upon  its  amplitude. 
In  this  quality  the  value  of  the  pendulum  as  a 
time-keeper  consists:  it  is  the  essence  of  a  clock, 
whose  other  machinery  is  to  keep  it  going,  and  to 
mark  its  oscillations  upon  the  dial.  These  are  on 
the  whole  very  unifo:  in  in  the  same  place,  though 
a  change  of  terrestrial  gravity  in  passing  from 
equator  to  poles  we  have  seen  causing  a  change  in 
their  times.    That  is,  the  periods  which  on  the 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  231 

spot  do  not  grow  less  with  the  loss  of  amplitude, 
do  grow  less  (the  time-piece  gets  slower)  in  pass- 
ing southward  to  the  equator. 

Gahleo  was  the  discoverer  of  isochronism,  which, 
according  to  the  story,  he  observed  by  watching 
the  swing  of  a  lamp  in  the  cathedral  of  Pisa  (seem- 
ingly his  mind  was  not  upon  his  prayers).  Huy- 
gens  first  gave  a  true  insight  into  the  theory  of  the 
pendulum  in  a  famous  book,  {De  Horologio  Oscil- 
latorio,  Paris,  1673).  Newton  continued  the  work 
in  his  Principia  (see  Section  6th,  Book  II,  where 
he  treats  of  "funipendulous  bodies").  Here  oc- 
curs his  important  distinction  between  quantity 
of  Matter  (or  mass)  and  weight.  Says  he:  "the 
weights  of  the  same  body  in  different  places"  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth  are  variable,  in  accord 
with  "the  variation  of  its  gravity."  But  he  always 
found  "the  quantity  of  Matter  in  bodies  to  be 
proportional  to  their  weight" — a  fact  which  he 
tested  "by  experiments  made  with  the  greatest  ac- 
curacy," doubtless  at  different  pomts.  This  gives 
a  Httle  glimpse  of  Newton,  the  careful  experi- 
menter. 

The  dominating  fact  of  the  pendulum  in  our 
modern  world  is  the  application  of  it  as  a  time- 
measurer.  The  idea  of  such  a  mechanical  contriv- 
ance is  said  to  go  back  to  Galileo,  but  the  inven- 
tion of  the  first  pendulum  clock  is  usually  ascribed 
to  Huygcns.  Besides  these  famous  physicists, 
other  less  known  claimants   have   had  their  advo- 


232  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

cates.  This  was  probably  like  so  many  other  in- 
ventions: several  people  came  upon  it  independ- 
ently about  the  same  time.  (A  strong  claim  has 
been  made  for  Joost  Biirgi,  of  Switzerland,  the 
natural  home  of  clocks  and  watches.  Other  na- 
tions have  contestants.  See  Cajori,  Hist  Phys., 
p.  36). 

With  isochronism  the  oscillating  Body  has  run 
its  course,  having  unified  within  itself  and  reduced 
to  law  all  its  variations,  we  may  say  all  its  strug- 
gles. In  a  sense  it  has  rounded  itself  out  as  a  pro- 
cess, but  it  has  not  yet  advanced  into  its  own  full 
circle,  from  which  it  always  drops  back  ere  attain- 
ing. Such  is  its  visible  manifestation  of  its  weak- 
ness, its  insufficiency,  its  finitude.  We  can  behold 
its  inherent  dialectic  (so  we  name  this  act  of  Nat- 
ure generally)  in  its  very  motion,  which  keeps 
forever  undoing  what  it  has  done,  progressing 
then  taking  the  back  track,  trying  boldly  and  then 
giving  up.  Really  it  cannot  overcome  its  own 
inner  separation,  its  innate  dualism,  against  which 
it  is  always  reacting,  yet  to  which  it  is  always 
yielding.  It  remains  a  part  though  under  perpetual 
protest;  yea  it  remains  two  parts,  but  it  cannot 
reach  and  be  its  own  whole  and  thereby  complete 
itself.  Yet  this  whole  is  just  what  actually  is  in 
the  universe,  and  the  oscillation  must  universalize 
itself  and  pass  over  into  the  following  stage.  Or 
let  the  bob  of  the  pendulum  whirl  through  its  total 
arc;  then  this  vanishes  into  the  next. 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  233 

III.  The  Rotatixg  Body.  The  circular  move- 
ment of  a  Body  naturally  succeeds  the  oscillatory; 
the  segment  of  the  circle  may  be  conceived  as  call- 
ing for  completion.  The  part  strives  to  be  the 
whole  of  which  it  is  part .  The  pendulum  furnishes 
the  center,  the  radius,  and  the  suggested  circum- 
ference of  a  circle  in  which  a  Body  is  to  move.  In 
the  oscillation  we  notice  the  twofoldness,  the  arc 
forward  and  then  backward ;  then  each  arc  is  di- 
vided into  a  fall  and  a  rise,  from  and  toward  the 
center  of  suspension;  gravity  also  is  separated, 
being  at  fii'st  followed  and  then  opposed  by  the 
movement  of  pendulum.  Oscilla+ion  strives  but 
cannot  reach:  it  drops  back  and  retreats  on  its 
own  path.  The  two  centers,  that  of  suspension  and 
that  of  gravity,  show  their  struggle  in  the  oscilla- 
tory movement  of  the  intermediate  bob,  alter- 
nately winning  and  losing,  till  the  two  contesting 
forces  bring  the  pendulum  to  a  rest  between  them 
in  the  line  of  equilibrium. 

The  completion  and  fulfilment  of  the  oscillation 
is  the  rotation  of  the  Body,  which  does  not  now 
retreat  to  its  starting-point  but  advances  to  the 
same.  The  partial  motion  rounds  itself  out,  re- 
turning into  itself  through  its  totality  and  forming 
the  circle,  which  has  its  own  center  as  well  as  the 
earth.  Gravity  is  overcome  being  unable  to  break 
up  the  circumference  into  segments.  The  motion 
of  the  Body  is  no  longer  divided  into  two  opposite 
oscillations  and  then  into  two  opposite  semi-oscilla- 


234  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tions.  This  inner  separation  and  dualism  is  harmo- 
nized and  unified  in  the  one  circular  movement. 
The  Body,  first  gravitating  toward  the  earth's  cen- 
ter in  a  straight  line,  then  oscillating  between  the 
two  centers  in  a  curved  line,  has  now  gotten  its 
own  center  of  movement. 

In  the  Rotating  Body  we  can  find  the  same  gen- 
eral process  that  was  observed jn  the  fall  and  in 
the  oscillation  of  the  bodies.  The  same  terms  may 
be  employed  in  designating  its  stages;  thus  the 
common  movement  which  pervades  this  entire 
field  of  the  Gravitating  Body  will  be  brought  out 
more  plainly. 

1,  Identity  of  Rotation.  It  seems  trite  to  say 
that  all  bodies  are  capable  of  being  rotated ;  but 
not  so  familiar  is  the  conception  that  the  first  mo- 
tion of  the  universe,  the  primordial  act  of  matter, 
was  doubtless  rotary.  From  this  original  creative 
Rotation  all  other  forms  of  motion  may  be  con- 
ceived to  be  derived. 

The  most  common  kind  of  the  Rotating  Body 
is  the  Wheel  which  we  have  already  considered  in 
treating  of  the  Mechanical  Powers.  In  general 
the  simplest  form  of  rotation  is  the  rigid  Body 
moving  around  a  fixed  axis.  Such  a  Body  shows 
a  certain  independence,  having  its  own  center  and 
its  own  motion  about  its  center.  To  a  degree  it 
has  become  self-centered,  actively  so  through  its 
rotation.  From  this  point  of  view  we  may  deem 
it  a  little  image  of  the  earth.     Rotating,  it  is  de- 


-      THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  235 

termined  from  within,  partially  at  least.  A  higher 
individuality  and  self-assertion  it  manifests  through 
its  rotation  than  through  it  fall  or  its  oscillation. 
Indeed  it  defies  and  transcends  both  after  its  man- 
ner. Still  the  rotation  of  a  Body  has  its  limits; 
urged  beyond  a  certain  speed  it  undoes  itself — the 
wheel  flies  to  pieces,  and  the  round  darts  into  the 
rectilineal. 

2.  Difference  of  Rotation.  That  is,  the  Rotating 
Body  differentiates  itself  through  its  own  act  of 
Rotation.  At  a  certain  point  of  velocity  its  cohe_ 
sion  is  overcome,  it  flies  into  multiplicity,  it  be- 
came reproductive,  or  using  a  biological  analogy, 
it  shows  itself  fissiparous.  Thus  the  Rotating 
Body  reveals  the  tendency  to  divide  within  itself, 
to  rush  from  the  one  center  into  many  centers,  to 
incorporate  itself  anew  in  separate  forms  of  matter. 

The  tendency  of  the  particle  of  a  Rotating  Body 
to  rush  from  the  center  may  be  seen  in  the  mud 
flying  from  the  rapid  wheels  of  a  carriage,  or  in  the 
bucket  of  water  whirled  overhead  by  the  hand. 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  these  separated  particles  fly 
off  at  a  tangent  to  the  circular  path  of  the  body, 
which  thus  projects  its  pieces  in  a  right  line.  This 
is  often  called  the  centrifugal  force  produced  by 
Rotation.  The  stone  of  a  sling  when  the  string  is 
loosed,  is  an  example.  The  strong  fly-wheel  if  ro- 
tated too  rapidly  will  brea'k  to  fragments,  which 
may  be  hurled  in  all  directions  on  tangential  lines. 
But  the  most  interesting  example  is  the  rotatory 


236  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

motion  of  the  earth,  which  probably  produced  the 
moon,  and  was  itself  produced  originally  by  the 
rotating  sun  of  which  it  was  a  part.  So  it  is  con- 
ceived that  the  whole  planetary  system  was  gener- 
ated by  Rotation,  which  thus  manifests  itself  as 
the  creative  principle  of  the  separate  cosmical 
bodies.  In  fact  each  piece  of  matter  can  be  made 
to  yield  up  its  cohesive  individuality,  to  surrender 
its  own  self  as  it  were,  and  to  beget  others  like 
unto  itself,  through  the  rotary  act. 

But  now  follows  a  fact  of  deepest  significance: 
the  separated  or  generated  body  is  also  a  Rotary 
Body  like  its  source.  Thus  all  these  different  cor- 
poreal forms  become  one  in  a  common  principle. 

3.  Unity  of  Rotation.  We  may  repeat  that  this 
unity  is  not  that  simple  identity  with  which  the 
present  sphere  started,  but  the  concrete  unity 
which  springs  from,  embraces  and  unifies  the  fore- 
going difference. 

The  fragments  separated  and  flung  off"  by  the 
Rotating  Body  themselves  rotate ;  thus  the  rota- 
tion in  a  manner  reproduces  itself.  The  stone 
speeding  on  its  tangential  path  from  a  sling  will 
spin;  its  outer  particles  have  been  moving  with 
greater  velocity  than  the  inner,  being  farther  from 
the  center  of  rotation.  Thus  they  are  forced  to 
whirl  about  their  own  center,  and  the  Rotating 
Body  throws  off  another  Rotating  Body  through 
its  centrifugal  energy,  which  new  Rotating  Body 
may  repeat  the  process. 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  237 

Thus  we  have  reached  the  point  at  which  the 
Rotating  Body  becomes  self-generative,  that  is,  it 
produces  through  rotation  another  of  its  kind, 
which  in  its  turn  may  reproduce  itself.  The  mov- 
ing Body  has  now  engendered  a  motion  which  no 
longer  pulls  it  to  the  center,  but  throws  it  off 
from  the  center;  gravitation  has  turned  into  a 
kind  of  degravitation.  This  is,  therefore,  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Gravitating  Body  with  whose  simple 
fall  earthward  in  a  straight  line  we  began,  and 
which  next  showed  its  fluctuation  between  the 
two  opposing  forces  in  the  oscillation.  The  latter, 
however,  completes  itse'f  in  the  Rotating  Body, 
which  still  clings  to  the  one  center  under  ordinary 
circumstances.  But  if  the  rotation  be  increased 
up  to  a  certain  point,  the  Rotating  Body  divides 
within  itself  and  becomes  two  or  many  Rotating 
Bodies  which  form  or  may  form  a  system. 

Still  each  of  these  Rotating  Bodies,  revolving  on 
its  own  axis  as  a  self-contained  whole,  is  subject 
to  gravitation,  which  is  not  destroyed  by  the  new 
axial  motion  of  the  separated  Body.  To  be  sure 
the  moving  Body  no  longer  merely  falls,  or  oscil- 
lates, or  rotates,  in  and  by  itself;  it  gravitates 
still,  but  also  it  keeps  flying  tangentially,  preserv- 
ing likewise  its  axial  motion.  Thus  it  moves  in  a 
circle  or  orbit  around  its  central,  or  originative 
Body. 

But  with  this  system  of  axial  and  orbital  motions 
of  Bodies,   we  have  quite  transcended  our  terres- 


238  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

trial  limits  and  have  really  entered  the  field  of 
celestial  mechanics.  The  Particularized  Cosmos 
with  its  manifold  collisions  has  passed  into  a  new 
cosmical  order.  The  Moving  Body  with  which  the 
Particularized  Cosmos  started  as  something  given, 
has  unfolded  to  the  Rotating  Body  which  now 
generates  the  Moving  Body  culminating  in  itself, 
that  is,  in  the  Rotating  Body.  Thus  the  process 
of  this  second  stage  of  the  Cosmos  which  we  call 
particularized,  has  rounded  itself  out  to  comple- 
tion. The  Cosmos  as  incorporate  now  reproduces 
itself  as  Body  without  collision. 

A  physicist  of  authority  has  made  the  calcula- 
tion that  if  the  earth  were  to  revolve  seventeen 
times  faster  than  it  does,  a  Body  at  the  equator 
•  would  not  weigh  anything,  would  not  fall,  but 
would  remain  in  the  balance  as  it  were  between 
the  so-called  centrifugal  and  and  centripetal  forces. 
Terrestrial  Gravitation  would  be  just  counteracted 
by  terrestrial  Rotation.  According  to  this  reck- 
oning, if  the  earth's  revolution  were  made  greater 
than  seventeen  times  its  present  velocity,  objects 
on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  perchance  people,  you 
and  I,  would  begin  to  rise  unwinged  and  to  fly  off 
into  space.  Moreover  we  would  spin,  each  turn- 
ing on  his  own  axis.  We  would  be  transformed 
into  little  planets,  or  rather  satellites,  which  might 
circle  about  mother  earth  in  an  orbit  with  axial 
rotation  like  the  moon.  We  might  re-enact  the 
original  world-making  of  the  solar  system,  which, 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  239 

as  we  shall  observe  later,  is  supposed  to  have 
been  thrown  off  by  the  primeval  sun  unfolding  out 
of  its  nebulous  condition.  But  without  passing 
through  this  dubious  if  not  dangerous  process,  we 
can  at  our  case  behold  a  little  miniature  of  globe- 
producing  in  its  evolution  and  revolution  by  look- 
ing at  a  stone  as  it  whirls  from  the  rotary  motion 
of  a  sling. 

Already  physicists  have  taken  pains  to  observe 
and  to  measure  the  different  velocities  of  the  fall 
of  a  Body  in  differents  parts  of  our  earth  as  an 
oblate  spheroid.  At  the  equator  it  is  32.09  feet  a 
second;  at  New  York  32.16;  at  Spitzbergen,  nearer 
the  polo,  it  is  32.25  (Ganot).  Thus  the  Body  di- 
minishes in  weight  as  it  gets  more  d'stant  from 
the  earth's  center.  If  it  were  borne  outward  in 
space  toward  the  moon,  at  what  point  would  the 
terrestrial  and  lunar  attractions  for  it  equal  each 
other — and  what  would  then  happen?  The  prob- 
lem may  be  pushed  further,  even  to  the  boundary 
line  of  the  Solar  System,  on  which  line  we  may 
conceive  a  wandering  body  to  be  balancing,  hesi- 
tating whether  to  go  out  or  to  stay  in.  Alpha 
Centauri  is  said  to  be  the  nearest  star,  and  is 
larger  than  our  sun,  and  so  is  endowed  with  greater 
power  of  Gravitation.  A  fence  between  the  pos- 
sessions of  these  two  somewhat  grasping  neigh- 
bors must  run  somewhere  through  the  cosmical 
spaces,  and  there  are  stray  bodies  or  tramps  of  the 
skies  which  climb  over  it  from  one  celestial  farm 


240  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

into  another.  Seemingly  some  comets  do  so,  and 
doubtless  vast  hordes  of  invisible,  yea  microscopic 
migrants  cross  the  limits  of  systemic  Gravitation, 
and  interconnect  the  stellar  provinces  of  the 
Cosmos. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Rotating  Body  when 
brought  to  rotate  at  a  certain  velocity  becomes  re- 
productive and  begets  itself.  Motion  has  the 
power  of  (Uviding  Matter  at  a  given  Measure,  re- 
producing bodies,  or  in  general  the  Particularized 
Cosmos.  The  interest  here  is  to  note  that  the  three 
primary  cosmical  elements — Motion,  Matter.  Meas- 
ure— are  perpetually  bringing  forth  throuiiii  then- 
own  ])rocess  the  vast  variety  of  the  corporeal  world. 
Undoubtedly  the  turn  at  which  tlie  velocity  of 
Rotation  becomes  productive  must  vary  a  good  deal 
on  the  planets  and  throughout  the  physical  uni- 
verse. We  have  a'ready  noted  the  point  at  which  the 
earth's  rotation  might  start  to  generating  new 
earths  even  if  small.  In  this  connection  we  may 
observe  another  fact  for  the  future:  the  spin  of  the 
stone  is  in  the  same  plane  as  the  whirl  of  the  sling; 
the  rotation  of  the  generated  body  in  the  main 
parallels  the  rotation  of  its  source.  This  fact  holds 
of  the  planets  and  the  satellites  (with  a  few  curious 
exceptions),  and  will  some  day  probably  be  shown 
to  hold  of  the  Sun  himself,  which  may  have  been 
once,  with  the  other  stars,  thrown  off  from  the  ro- 
tating Cosmosphere. 

Rotation  has  a  radial  energy,  striving  to  ray  out 


THE  GRAVITATING  BODY.  241 

in  opposition  to  Gravitation,  to  the  very  limits  of 
the  universe,  according  to  the  velocity.  It  would 
seem  therein  to  suggest  already  in  Mechanics  the 
radio-active  principle  generally,  such  as  Light  and 
Heat  (not  to  speak  of  radium  itself) .  The  thought 
will  rise  that  the  limited  Rotating  Body  urged  to 
the  top  of  its  speed,  will  expand  toward  the  unlim- 
ited, will  seek  to  universalize  itself,  will  radiate 
from  its  center  as  if  striving  for  luminosity.  Such 
is  called  its  centrifugal  force  and  hints  already  in 
the  Cosmos  the  counter  energy  of  the  Diacosmos. 
Rapid  Rotation  tears  even  the  cohesive  fly-wheel 
to  pieces  and  rays  them  out  like  light-balls,  pro- 
phetic  of  the  coming  phase  of  Nature. 

We  may  go  back  again  and  take  anotlier  look  at 
the  fall  of  the  body  to  Earth  which  stops  it  in- 
deed, yet  carries  it  on  in  a  circle  of  motion,  which 
really  completes  its  partial  rectihneal  descent. 
Using  the  word  freedom  in  this  connection,  we 
may  say  that  the  fall  of  the  Body  to  the  earth  is 
but  half-free,  while  by  its  sweep  with  the  Earth  it 
shares  in  a  fully  free  self-returning  round  of  motion. 
And  still  further  might  the  thought  be  carried  till 
the  falling  Body  participates  in  the  All. 

The  oscillating  Body  should  also  be  glanced  at 
in  a  retrospect  before  leaving  the  present  sphere. 
It  images  the  oscillation  of  the  moment,  of  the  day 
of  the  year,  of  the  period,  yea  of  Time  itself.  But 
the  oscillation  is  partial,  is  only  a  stage,  and  when 
it  becomes  total  it  must  supply  its  other  part  and 

16 


242  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

become  rotation,   which   in  its   wholeness  reaches 
back  to  the  beginning  and  forward  to  the  end. 

We  may  return  once  more  to  the  Rotating  Body, 
seemingly  the  first  form  of  the  physical  universe. 
But  on  the  earth  this  rotatory  movement  is  still 
under  the  control  of  terrestrial  gravity  which  will 
finally  stop  it,  and  also  will  pull  down  the  gener- 
ated Body  also  rotating.  Still,  when  the  rotation 
is  adequate  to  thi'ow  off  the  new  Body  to  a  suffi- 
cient distance  and  to  impart  to  the  same  enough 
rotation  to  keep  it  spinning,  then  it  obtains  a  new 
motion  which  is  orbital,  and  to  its  own  rotation  is 
added  its  revolution  around  its  original  central 
Body.  Such  we  may  take  as  the  first  glimpse  of 
the  System  which  is  next  to  unfold  in  the  Cosmos, 
and  to  give  to  the  same  a  new  and  more  complete 
manifestation. 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  243 

CHAPTER   THIRD, 

THE  SYSTEMIC   COSMOS. 

We  have  now  reached  the  Cosmos  as  systemic, 
or  as  the  cosmical  system  of  Nature  incorporate. 
Motion  and  Matter  are  brought  into  an  harmonious 
order,  or  at  least  relatively  so;  the  collisions 
which  we  have  just  witnessed  in  the  Particularized 
Cosmos,  are  mediated  in  the  interest  of  an  uni- 
versal order  whose  stress  is  to  avoid  the  conflict 
of  Bodies  through  a  system.  The  force  of  gravi- 
tation still  holds  and  pulls  the  Body  in  a  straight 
Hue,  but  the  force  of  rotation  enters  and  comi)cls 
a  circular  movement  around  the  material  center, 
thus  shunning  the  clash  of  worlds.  To  Ije  sure  the 
cosmical  collision  may  not  be  wholly  avoided,  but 
it  is  now  pushed  into  the  background,  being  usually 
relegated  by  the  scientific  theorist  into  the  remote 
past  or  remote  future,  when  the  Sun  himself  shall 
die. 

The  fall  of  a  Body,  if  it  be  conceived  as  uni- 
versal, comes  back  to  the  beginning;  it  falls  into 
itself,  so  to  speak,  and  keeps  on  falling  thus.  The 
Body  through  Motion  is  continually  brought  afresh 
to  its  start  and  persists  in  going  its  round ;  Motign 
incorporate  has  become  cyclical,  it  is  no  longer 
stopped  and  dragged  down  by  Matter,  but  picks 
up  and  carries  its  Matter  along  in  its  circle.     This 


244  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

we  may  regard  as  the  triumph  of  Motion  over  Mat- 
ter, while  ill  the  Particularized  Cosmos  the  triumph 
was  the  other  way.  We  may  deem  it  the  inherent 
necessity  of  Motion,  as  sprung  of  the  All  directly, 
to  complete  itself,  to  make  itself  a  whole,  that  is, 
a  whole  in  itself.  So  it  evolves  through  its  stage 
of  finite  and  particular  Motions,  and  at  last  gets 
around  to  the  point  of  its  own  beginning,  whereby 
it  becomes  endless.  As  a  rule  the  Systemic  Cos- 
mos is  a  vast  and  intricate  complex  of  rings  of 
Motion  which  sweep  about  the  central  Body  in 
many  shapes,  more  or  less  elhptical.  The  typical 
form  is  the  Solar  System  of  which  we  are  a  part, 
but  probably  each  self-luminous  star  is  the  center 
of  another  such  a  system.  The  celestial  world, 
even  in  its  wildest  cometary  and  nebulous  appear- 
ances, is  a  world  of  system  whose  law,  if  not  yet 
found,  is  always  sought  for  with  the  certainty  of 
its  existence;  astronomy  means  literally  the  science 
of  the  laws  of  the  stars.  Moreover  these  laws  are 
laws  of  the  harmonious  movements  of  Bodies 
rather  than  of  their  collisions.  Again  we  recall 
the  old  conception  of  the  harmony  of  the  spheres, 
going  back  it  is  said,  to  ancient  Pythagoras. 

The  Cosmos  emerging  from  the  chaos  of  terres- 
trial conflict  which  we  have  just  seen,  rises  into 
the  realm  of  celestial  order,  and  systemizes  itself; 
this  is  now  its  essential  fact  and  hence  it  can  well  be 
called  the  Systemic  Cosmos.  If  we  consider  in 
thought  the  falling  Body,  it  must  have  been  forced 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  245 

into  its  condition  of  separation,  wliich  it  seeks 
freely  of  itself  to  overcome,  thus  returning  to  its 
origin.  It  tries  to  c'rcle  back  to  its  beginning,  but 
this  the  interposing  earth  prevents,  though  the 
striving  remains.  But  let  the  earth  be  conceived 
as  taken  away ;  or  rather  let '  the  earth  itself  be 
conceived  as  the  falling  Body,  which  must  perpet- 
ually fall  towards  its  source  whence  it  has  always 
to  begin  over  again,  being  as  Body  separated 
therefrom  primordially.  The  earth  falls  freely 
toward  the  sun  which  was  probably  its  material 
soiu-ce;  but  as  Body  separated  it  is  turned  away, 
the  original  separation  being  continually  re-enacted 
once  every  year.  That  is,  the  earth-child  hastens 
back  into  the  warm  embrace  of  its  sun-mother  for 
a  rejuvenescence  or  new  birth;  but  being  re-born, 
we  may  think,  from  its  primeval  womb,  it  is 
ejected  again  into  space  on  its  annual  round  till 
its  striving  wheels  it  about  once  more,  after  its 
winter  of  ahenation.  This  renewal  of  our  planet's 
birth  by  the  sun  is  ever  repeated,  and  constitutes 
its  chief  period,  called  the  year,  verily  the  type 
and  indeed  the  ground  of  all  other  periods.  More- 
over we  behold  in  it  an  outer  cosmical  image  of 
the  inner  process  of  the  self,  separating  from  and 
returning  to  its  germinal  source.  To  be  sure  the 
sun-mother  herself  we  shall  likewise  find  to  be  a 
Body  separated  from  a  far  larger  totality,  to  be  a 
child  of  the  greater  Cosmos,  having  probably  its 
round  also,  and  circling  through  untold  a.>ons.    Still 


246  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

even  the  Pancosmos,  if  so  we  may  call  it,  is  a  sep- 
aration, indeed  it  is  just  the  Separated  originally 
from  the  All-Self. 

In  such  fashion  we  seek  to  glimpse  and  to  ex- 
press the  inner  psychical  movement  of  the  visible 
Systemic  Cosmos.  But  there  is  another  expression 
very  different,  the  mechanical,  which  was  and  is 
still  found  in  the  science  of  Astronomy.  Laplace, 
echoing  his  time,  calls  his  great  book  Celestial  Me- 
chanics, and  declares  in  the  preface  to  it  that  "As- 
tronomy, in  its  most  general  form,  is  a  great  prob- 
lem in  Mechanics,"  whose  given  elements  are  the 
movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  Yet  Laplace, 
as  already  noted,  gave  a  start  to  the  genetic  or  ev- 
olutionary theory  of  the  Systemic  Cosmos,  Kant's 
similar  view  being  quite  unheeded  though  prior. 
But  it  was  Sir  Wilham  Herschel,  the  contemporary 
of  Laplace,  who  in  his  observations  on  the  nebulae 
of  the  Heavens  laid  the  material  foundation  for 
the  new  Astronomy,  which  deals  so  largely  with 
the  origin  and  development  of  the  stellar  world. 
In  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  Nineteenth  Century 
the  science  of  the  stars  has  become  decidedly  evo- 
lutionary, of  course  without  giving  up  its  previous 
mechanical  acquisitions. 

Already  we  have  given  a  brief  account  of  the  neb- 
ular hypothesis  as  unfolded  by  Kant  and  Laplace 
(see  preceding  pp.  29-31).  It  is  an  interesting  fact 
that  this  hypothesis,  which  started  as  mere  fanciful 
conjecture  or  idea,  has  been  clothing  itself  with  re- 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  247 

ality  more  and  more  till  at  present  it  is  the  domi- 
nant' theme  of  astronomy.  Again  we  see  the 
thought  going  in  advance  of  the  thing  and  forming 
a  center  of  correlation  for  the  phenomena  of  the 
new  science.  Physical  and  astronomical  discov- 
eries have  indeed  much  expanded  and  developed 
the  orignal  nebular  hypothesis,  but  it  still  remains 
the  core  around  which  fresh  facts  gather  them- 
selves and  get  ordered. 

The  old  Astronomy  was  largely  mechanical  or 
cosmical ;  Motion  and  Matter  it  indeed  ordered  but 
chiefly  through  Measure,  and  thus  it  showed  the 
triumph  of  Mathematics.  The  new  Astronomy  is 
rather  physical  or  diacosmical,  though  it  does  not 
dispense  with  Measure  by  any  means.  Still  the 
nebula  has  in  most  respects  eluded  measurement 
hitherto,  though  its  turn  will  probably  come. 

I.  The  nebula,  then,  is  the  central  phenomenon 
of  astronomy  at  the  present  time.  It  brings  up 
the  question  of  the  origin  and  the  development  of 
the  entire  physical  universe.  It  may  be  here  said 
that  the  naked  eye  is  of  little  help  in  finding  the 
nebulous  shapes  of  the  skies.  A  powerful  telescope 
is  required  to  bring  them  out  of  the  spatial  depths 
in  which  they  arc  hidden.  Sir  William  Herschel 
with  his  huge  instrument  of  remote  vision  was  re- 
ally the  first  who  caught  sight  of  a  large  number 
of  nebuUe  and  began  their  systematic  observation. 
He  also  spoke  the  pivotal  word  about  them ;  he 
declared  them  to  be  various  stages  in  the  evolution 


24S  COSMOS  AXD  DIACOSMOS. 

of  the  Cosmos.  In  the  tar-off  Heavens  men  began 
to  see  the  genesis  of  the  Sun  and  its  system,  yea 
of  all  cosmical  systems.  It  was  soon  obsen-ed 
tliat  the  nebiiUe  had  many  sizes,  forms,  gradations: 
each  became  a  leaf  in  the  long  liistory  of  world- 
makhig.  A  Search  started  for  the  intervening 
steps  between  the  thinnest  distant  nebula  and  our 
own  sohd  earth. 

But  the  human  eye  looking  through  a  powerful 
telescope  was  discovered  to  be  inadequate.  Upon 
a  new  kind  of  i-etina.  farmore  delicate  and  penetrat- 
mg  than  the  ocular,  celestial  objects  were  to  impress 
tlieir  images.  The  photographic  plate  was  this  new 
oi*gan  of  sight  which,  with  its  greater  sensitiveness 
to  light.  begi\n  to  reveal  the  mysteries  of  the  skies 
liitherto  imseen.  In  this  work  the  Lick  Obsen'a- 
toiy  on  Mount  Hamilton,  in  California,  has  been 
specially  successful  by  means  of  its  large  t<'lescope 
of  three  feet  aperature.  known  as  the  Crossley  Re- 
flector. The  late  Prafessor  Kecler,  who  devoted 
hiniseK  to  photographing  nebula\  advanced  our 
knowlevlge  of  them  enormously  He  continued  to 
discover  them  till  he  estimated  their  number  at 
120.000  witliin  reach  of  his  telescope  and  liis  pho- 
tography. Here  is  an  incident  which  he  records 
in  his  exi>erience.  He  adjusted  his  instrument  to 
take  a  copy  of  an  important  nebula  in  the  constel- 
lation of  Andromeda:  behold,  when  he  looked  at 
the  photographic  plate,  he  found  not  only  what  he 
sought  for  but  tliirtv-one  other  forms  of  nebulae. 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  249 

Nor  is  this  all.  Upon  the  plate  he  noticed  numer- 
otis  small  Ught-points  the  natui-e  of  which  even  the 
Crossloy  Reflector  could  not  unravel,  but  which  he 
conjectui"ed  to  be  nebula^  still  moi-e  remote.  Thus 
these  nebulous  shapes  stream  out  into  regions  be- 
yond the  stai's.  perchance  beyond  the  entu-e  galactic 
system,  which  we  see  circhng  our  Heavens.  They 
suggest  other  cosmical  systems.  Moreover,  they 
seem  to  form  a  common  connecting  body  or  ele- 
ment interhnking  the  total  physical  universe. 
There  is  getting  to  be  at  least  a  conjectiu-e  that 
the  nebtila  is  not  far  i-emoved  from  the  first  ele- 
mental flatter  of  the  Creation,  possibly  being  next 
after  the  primal  ether,  of  which  we  are  hearing  so 
much  in  these  days. 

In  this  connection  may  be  noted  the  triimiph 
over  another  diflBculty  pertaining  to  tlie  nebula. 
Cases  repeatedly  occur  in  which  large  telescopes 
rcsolve  into  individual  stai"s  what  appears  a  neb- 
ular mass  when  looked  at  through  smaller  instru- 
ments. Accordingly  the  inference  stands  near  and 
has  been  made  that  all  nebulae  are  ultimately  star 
groups  closely  clustered,  and  are  destined  to  be  re- 
solved when  the  telescope  grows  more  perfect. 
Still  there  remained  many  of  these  bluish  fog- 
banks  of  the  skies  which  the  best  instrument  might 
magnify  but  could  not  turn  into  stars.  Finally 
the  spectroscope  came  and  was  apphed  to  these 
nebulous  masses.  The  result  was  that  the  spec- 
trum of  a  true  nebula,  though  varjing  in  itseK, 


250  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

was  found  to  be  distinct  from  the  spectrum  of 
a  star.  Such  is  the  decisive  test  which  even  the 
photographic  plate  through  the  telescope  could  not 
give.  It  is  acknowledged  that  the  true  nebula  is 
composed  of  a  gas  heated  to  incandescence,  while 
the  star  is  a  body  more  or  less  solidified,  likewise 
incandescent.  Now  if  the  light  of  an  incandescent 
solid  be  examined  its  spectrum  is  continuous, 
showing  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  in  their  suc- 
cession. But  the  spectrum  of  an  incandescent  gas 
is  called  discontinuous,  showing  bright  lines  upon  a 
dark  background.  So  with  the  aid  of  the  great  tele- 
scope, of  photography  and  of  the  spectroscope,  we 
have  reached  back  to  a  primordial  gaseous  Matter, 
quite  formless  as  yet  and  incohesive,  but  starting 
to  show  itself,  that  is,  to  be  self-luminous. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  three  mentioned  instru- 
ments— telescope,  photographic  plate,  spectroscope 
— depend  upon  a  single  physical  medium,  light. 
They  are  the  human  eye  indefinitely  extended  and 
intensified,  within  whose  natural  range  they  bring 
the  sheen  of  far-off  and  otherwise  invisible  worlds. 
Through  this  light  all  matter  begins  to  become 
self-revealing,  it  starts  to  tell  on  itself  with  a  still 
small  voice  reaching  through  immeasurable  dis- 
tances. At  a  certain  point  of  heat  usually,  body 
commences  to  show  itself,  it  is  endowed  with  a 
kind  of  impartation.  Light  we  may  deem  the  cos- 
mical  language  in  which  each  visible  member  of 
the    universe  talks  a   few  words  to  all  the   rest. 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  251 

What  (^oes  the  nebula  say  by  means  of  its  faint 
though  varying  illumination?  It  gives  some  flash- 
ing hints  of  its  position  in  the  heavens,  of  its  size, 
of  its  density,  of  its  subtle  tints.  Light,  accord- 
ingly, bears  a  message,  we  may  say  a  revelation 
from  its  nebulous  source.  It  communicates  knowl- 
edge, which  will  probably  be  much  increased  when 
we  understand  the  language  better.  Light  is  a 
sort  of  intercommunication  between  the  individ- 
uals of  the  Cosmos,  and  brings  them  into  a  kind 
of  association,  making  them  at  last  a  single  com- 
munity. 

But  the  chief  thing  which  light  has  revealed  as 
yet  concerning  the  nebula?  is  their  form  which  is  of 
great  diversity  and  of  many  gradations.  It  is  the 
study  of  these  peculiar  nebulous  shapes  with  their 
co-ordination  which  suggests  the  evolution  of  the 
Cosmos. 

II.  It  is  worth  while,  therefore,  to  look  briefly 
at  certain  sjjecial  nebula?  in  this  vast  multitude, 
for  the  fact  is  that  they  often  show  a  distinct  indi- 
viduality in  shape,  in  size,  in  density,  and  even  in 
shades  of  color.  There  seems  to  be  a  pretty  gen- 
eral consensus  of  investigators  that  the  Great  Neb- 
ula in  Orion,  as  it  is  called,  gives  a  characteristic 
starting-point  in  the  evolution  of  the  Cosmos. 
First  of  all  we  may  regard  its  shape  as  revealed  in 
the  photograph  of  the  Lick  Observatory.  Irregu- 
lar, raveling  out  around  the  edges  into  thinnest 
gossamer  shreds,  with  a  heavy  bulge  or  wart  on  its 


252  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

back,  it  seems  to  be  struggling  toward  a  form 
more  circular.  As  to  size  it  frays  out  indefinitely 
into  space;  each  new  power  of  the  lens  brings  into 
view  slight  filaments  previously  invisible.  On  the 
whole  it  appears  to  be  pulling  itself  together  out 
of  the  unseen  elemental  Matter,  and  to  be  slowly 
getting  self-luminous  through  an  increase  of  heat. 
By  the  way  this  heat,  so  common  about  us,  is  a 
very  significant  factor  in  world-making,  a  kind  of 
formative  energy  throughout  the  Cosmos.  The 
extent  of  the  Great  Nebula  in  Orion  is,  therefore, 
immeasurable,  and  evidently  not  visible.  But  the 
image  of  so  much  of  it  as  can  be  thrown  on  the 
photographic  plate  can  be  vaguely  sized.  An 
English  astronomer,  Prof.  Ball,  has  estimated  that 
its  area  would  easily  enclose  a  million  of  our  Solar 
Systems,  as  bounded  by  the  orbit  of  Neptune — 
that  is,  the  area  of  it  so  far  as  this  is  reproduced 
in  the  Lick  photograph. 

At  the  view  of  such  a  huge  object  one  gets  con- 
templative, and  begins  to  inquire:  What  is  here  in 
the  making?  Not  a  planet,  not  a  sun,  not  even  a 
Solar  System  probably ;  all  that  seems  too  small 
for  the  outlay.  The  imagination  stretches  itself 
to  its  limit  and  conceives  of  a  new  stellar  world 
in  the  process  of  formation;  another  encircling 
Milky  Way  (or  Galactosphere)  we  glimpse  in  its 
earliest  visible  genesis.  For  our  sun  is  only  a  star, 
and  a  rather  small  one  comparativcl}^,  of  that 
rounded  Galaxy  which  we  behold  in  the  sky  bend- 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  253 

ing  over  us;  millions  upon  millions  of  starry  mem- 
bers it  has  in  its  colossal  circle  which  on  its  part 
may  be  also  revolving  about  its  center  as  yet 
totally  unknown.  So  this  Great  Nebula  of  Orion, 
not  yet  rounded,  but  seemingly  rounding  itself 
and  raying  out  beyond  the  ever-extending  clutch 
of  the  largest  telescope,  may  be  taken  as  a  kind  of 
prelude  to  the  new  cosmogony,  -the  evolutionary 
as  distinct  from  the  old  ones,  in  which  the  world 
was  directly  made  by  the  fiat  of  an  Almighty  Will. 
We  may  state,  however,  that  this  act  of  Will  can- 
not be  put  out  of  universe. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  the  most  slender  film 
of  gauze  belonging  to  the  Great  Nebula  of  Orion  is 
something  derived,  it  has  an  antecedent  from 
which  it  sprang.  Even  if  its  antecedent  be,  at 
one  or  more  removes,  that  primeval  omnipresent, 
but  elusive  ether,  which  no  man  has  yet  seen,  felt, 
or  pinched  with  an  instrument,  still  this  ether  must 
also  go  back  to  a  creative  source.  At  present, 
however,  we  are  studying  what  seems  to  be  the 
first  sensible  appearance  of  the  visible  universe,  a 
primordial  fire-mist  with  its  faint  light. 

Moreover,  we  have  to  think  that  these  nebulous 
masses  are  in  motion;  in  general  these  shapes  sug- 
gest that  they  are  undergoing  some  sort  of  trans- 
formation, though  of  course  we  cannot  see  them 
moving.  And  we  can  have  little  doubt  that  their 
movements  are  more  or  less  circular,  they  are 
turning  on  an  axis   in    some    way.     Motion    we 


254  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

have  seen  to  be  the  first-bom  of  the  Cos- 
mos, before  even  Space  and  Time,  or  rather 
along  with  them;  the  earliest  Matter  will  be 
endowed  with  Motion  and  doubtless  with  round 
Motion.  In  the  real  nebuke  we  may  premise  that 
we  have  begun  to  see  the  primal  visible  Matter, 
though  the  Motion  of  it  has  not  yet  been  detected. 
Note  it  is  this  Motion  which  is  to  become  decidedly 
explicit  in  the  course  of  cosmical  development. 
Our  Solar  System  was  once  a  nebulous  shred,  doubt- 
less revolving;  its  Motions  have  become  the  prom- 
inent thing  in  its  present  appearance.  Not  merely 
an  evolution  of  the  Matter,  but  an  evolution  of 
Motion  astronomical  science  is  to  reveal.  In  Cos- 
mology we  have  to  work  backwards  from  our 
l^-esent  Solar  System  to  or  towards  the  beginning 
which  is  literally  nebulous.  The  planets  and  their 
satellites  are  conceived  to  be  products  of  a  rotat- 
ing Heliosphere,  which  throws  them  off  while  im- 
parting to  them  its  own  rotation. 

In  the  process  of  world-making  we  trace  by  the 
variation  of  these  vast  fog-shapes  the  cosmical 
development.  If  the  Great  Nebula  in  Orion  has 
the  appearance  of  trying  to  pull  itself  together, 
there  are  other  nebulous  masses  which  show  no 
such  striving  for  unity,  but  which  seem  scattered 
about  wholly  decentered.  It  cannot  as  yet  be 
told  whether  they  are  going  out  or  coming  in, 
worlds  vanishing  or  arising,  though  Mr.  Lockyer 
thinks  that  he  has  found  a  partial  test  for  ascer- 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  255 

taining  this  fact,  whereof  mention  will  be  later 
made.  '  Some  shapes  seem  strongly  centered  but 
irregular,  as  the  Crab  Nebula;  not  a  few  are  ring- 
shaped  like  the  felloes  of  a  wheel  (in  Lyra) ;  others 
divide  from  the  center  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel 
(the  Trifid  in  Sagittarius) .  NebuliE  show  a  ten- 
dency to  assume  round  shapes,  though  these  too 
are  very  diverse.  Still  there  are  rectilineal  neb- 
ulae or  those  which  seem  such,  for  this  fact  cannot 
always  be  verified;  at  so  great  a  distance  the 
round  edge  may  appear  a  straight  line. 

Some  nebulae  are  therefore,  unformed  if  not  form- 
less; others  seem  to  be  forming,  or  in  some  stage 
of  formation.  It  would  appear  that  they  have  in 
general  a  formative  type  toward  which  as  an  end 
they  are  moving  and  which  they  are  seeking  to 
unfold  to  fullness.  Now  what  can  we  consider  to 
be  that  final  form  of  itself  which  the  nebula  is 
striving  to  reach,  and  toward  which  the  paths 
are  so  diverse?  Taking  the  criterion  of  form  as 
marking  the  stages  of  its  evolution,  it  can  be  said 
to  show  a  final  form,  a  last  phase  ere  it  passes  out 
of  its  nebulous  state.  This  ultimate  form  of 
the  nebula,  even  if  it  has  many  gradations  within 
itself,  is  the  spiral,  which  on  account  of  its  place 
and  importance  should  receive  some  special 
mention. 

The  great  pivotal  fact,  accordingly,  in  the  un- 
folding of  the  nebula  is  that  it  beomcs  a  spiral, 
which  may  be  deemed  a  cosmical  stage  (|uite  ad- 


256  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

vanced,  but  by  no  means  as  advanced  as  our  Solar 
System.  In  comparison  with  it,  however,  the 
Great  Nebula  of  Orion  just  considered  seems  quite 
primeval  and  chaotic,  though  it  too  shows  a  ten- 
dency apparently  to  draw  itself  together  into  a 
round  form.  Other  nebula3  look  like  hazy  balls, 
but  they  are  all  probably  flattened  like  the  earth 
at  the  poles.  That  would  follow  from  their  cir- 
cular movement.  But  as  they  are  of  gas  and  not 
even  a  liquid,  this  flattening  must  be  much  greater 
than  that  of  the  earth.  The  spiral  nebulae  are 
naturally  flattened,  which  condition  is  the  fore- 
runner of  this  spirality,  or  of  their  separation  into 
the  whirls  like  those  of  the  ramshorn. 

It  so  happens  that  the  spiral  nebula  has  its  most 
striking  representative  in  the  photographs  of  the 
Lick  Observatory.  The  object  is  found  in  the  con- 
stellation known  as  Canes  Venatici,  not  far  from 
the  first  star  in  the  handle  of  the  Big  Dipper.  The 
photographic  image  of  this  nebula  makes  it  ap- 
pear similar  to  a  very  agitated  maelstrom  whirling 
off  a  huge  planet  or  perchance  a  total  system  from 
the  end  of  its  outer  spiral,  while  the  rest  of  the 
same  spiral  is  breaking  up  into  separate  pieces.  In 
fact  the  whole  coil  is  dividing  within  itself  as  if 
getting  ready  to  fling  its  fragments  outward  into 
space  as  independent  bodies.  Moreover  the  center 
of  the  spiral  has  become  more  condensed  and  more 
luminous  than  the  other  parts,  though  these  differ 
from  one  another  in  density  and  luminosity.     The 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  257 

whole, picture  compels  the  idea  of  a  central  sun  in 
the  making,  perhaps  several  of  them,  with  their 
planetary  systems.  The  size  of  this  great  spiral 
nebula  is  not  ascertained,  but  it  has  been  supposed 
to  be  thousands,  possibly  millions  of  times  larger 
than  our  sun  and  planets.  Still  it  requires  a  tele- 
scope to  find  it,  and  the  best  sort  of  an  instrument 
to  show  its  details.  Lord  Rossc  first  detected  and 
described  its  spirality,  but  the  correctness  of  his 
observation  at  first  met  with  a  good  deal  of  incre- 
dulity even  from  astronomers. 

Recently  the  fact  has  come  to  light  that  fully  one 
half  the  120,000  nebulir  now  supposed  to  be  within 
the  telescopic  field  are  spiral.  This  is  the  estimate 
of  Professor  Keeler.  If  such  be  the  case  we  be- 
hold so  many  systems  throughout  the  Heavens  in 
process  of  evolution.  Moreover  the  spectroscope 
has  been  invoked  to  give  its  evidence  concerning 
these  spiral  nebula?.  Judged  by  their  spectra 
they  are  no  longer  gaseous ;  they  have  developed 
out  of  the  vapor  of  the  Great  Nebula  in  Orion  and 
its  kindred.  Spirality  may,  therefore,  be  taken  to 
represent  a  very  })ronounced  condition  of  cosmical 
development;  the  nebula  has  advanced  to  the 
point  at  which  it  begins  to  show  its  separation  into 
the  members  of  a  system,  like  that  of  our  sun  with 
its  planets  and  their  satellites. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  spiralism  takes 
many  shapes;  the  60,000  of  them,  more  or  less, 
numbering  as  many  as  all  the  other  cruder  forms 


258  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

combined,  cannot  be  yet  classified.  Indeed  astron- 
omers are  coming  to  believe  that  there  are  more 
spirals  than  anything  else  in  the  celestial  strata. 
It  is  probable  that  the  spiral  period  of  a  nebula 
lasts  millions  of  years.  The  order  of  evolution 
through  these  primeval  ammonites  of  the  skies  is 
not  yet  ascertained ;  but  that  they  unfold  in  a  suc- 
cession of  aeons  is  scarcely  to  be  doubted.  There 
is  still  to  be  the  uranology  above  corresponding  to 
the  geology  below.  The  form-test,  which  has  been 
given  here,  is  hardly  sufficient  by  itself;  the  density, 
the  degree  of  luminosity,  the  color,  the  spectrum 
of  the  nebula,  are  all  bringing  a  message  which  has 
not  yet  been  deciphered,  still  less  has  it  been  or- 
ganized. 

Moreover  different  spirals  seem  to  be  evolving 
very  different  kinds  of  systems.  The  smallest  and 
nearest  may  be  turning  out  little  suns  such  as  ours 
with  their  petty  planetary  followers.  But  the 
gigantic  spirals  like  that  in  Orion  or  in  Canes 
Venatici  are  surely  not  engaged  in  such  an  insig- 
nificant piece  of  business.  They  are  evolving 
whole  constellations,  systems  of  systems,  per- 
chance an  entire  Milky  Way.  As  far  as  our  vision 
can  reach,  we  have  but  the  one  Galaxy,  though 
there  may  be  many  in  starry  bloom,  while  others 
may  be  arising  out  of  the  vast  nebulous  masses, 
and  still  others  vanishing  through  a  colossal  fog- 
world.  The  life  of  a  system,  the  life  of  a  star, 
even  the  life  of  a  planet  cannot  of  course  be  deter- 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  259 

mined,  still  the  beginning  has  been  made  when 
they  are  conceived  to  have  lives  or  to  be  passing 
through  a  cycle  of  evolution. 

III.  We  are  now  ready  to  consider  the  applica- 
tion of  this  nebular  evolution  to  our  Solar  System, 
which,  we  must  first  observe,  has  developed  far 
beyond  the  spiral  nebula.  Yet  we  conjecture  that 
our  sun  and  its  planets  had  once  the  shape  of  the 
spiral,  like  that  seen  in  Canes  \  enatici,  and  like 
thousands  of  others  scattered  through  the  heav- 
ens. The  primeval  fire-va})or  began  to  throw  off 
its  heat  into  the  circumjacent  space,  and  thereby 
to  contract.  Moreover  the  vast  mass  broke  up 
into  smaller  masses,  each  with  its  own  center,  as 
the  contraction  went  on.  The  middle  portion  of 
the  nebuUE,  however,  still  remained  and  would 
start  to  revolve  more  rapidly  than  the  portions  on 
the  rim,  which  gradually  obtained  their  own  sepa- 
rate motion.  Thus  the  spiral  produces  the  planet 
and  imparts  to  it  a  rotation  which  becomes  its 
own.  The  center  is  a  kind  of  whirlpool  with  an 
ever-increasing  velocitv,  as  it  grows  less  in  size, 
through  the  dissipation  of  its  heat.  In  this  way 
our  sun  is  conceived  to  have  been  slowly  trans- 
formed to  its  present  condition,  which  is  still  that 
of  an  intensely  heating  body  with  the  correspond- 
ing radiation.  The  planet,  being  much  smaller  will 
cool  more  rapidly,  and  pass  from  a  molten  liquid 
to  a  solid,  at  least  on  its  surface.  Such  is  the 
present  state  of  our   earth,  whose  interior  is  still 


260  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

supposed  to  be  in  its  original  igneous  condition. 
In  like  manner  the  other  planets  have  been  whirled 
off  from  that  primeval  spiral  whose  age  reaches 
back  many  millions  of  years.  The  process  of 
cooling  is  still  going  on,  both  in  the  sun  and  the 
planets,  and  the  question  is  much  discussed 
whether  their  heat  will  fall  below  its  life-giving 
power. 

It  should  be  further  observed  that  the  planet 
also  became  the  center  of  evolution,  and  unfolded 
its  own  system  of  revolving  bodies  called  moons. 
Thus  the  systemic  order  repeats  itself;  the  whole 
is  reflected  in  each  of  its  parts.  Or  we  may  say 
that  each  part,  in  order  to  be  a  part  of  a  whole, 
must  have  within  itself  the  process  of  that  whole. 
So  the  planetary  part,  in  order  to  remain  a  part 
of  a  system,  must  repeat  the  process  of  such  sys- 
tem. And  yet  further  we  have  to  push  the 
thought.  The  Solar  System  is  a  part,  and  only  a 
very  small  part  of  the  total  Cosmos,  yet  it  reflects 
the  universal  order.  Astronomers  quite  generally 
take  for  granted  that  the  stars  are  suns,  each  of 
which  has  its  family  of  planets.  So  a  system  runs 
through  the  entire  physical  universe,  a  common 
ordering  principle,  of  which  our  little  system  is  a 
reflection,  a  particular  manifestation.  And  still 
further  we  may  glimpse  the  working  of  the  All, 
and  forecast  that  this  same  physical  universe  as  a 
whole,  and  not  simply  in  its  parts,  will  be  found 
to  be  the  original   model  or  creative  prototype  of 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  261 

our  System   and  of  all  others,  in  fine  of  what  we 
here  call  the  Systemic  Cosmos. 

It  is  generally  considered  that  our  moon  was 
once  a  part  of  the  earth,  but  a  rift  occurred  while 
both  were  in  a  fluid  condition,  when  they  were 
forced  further  apart  by  the  action  of  the  tides  into 
their  present  Orbits.  The  mass  of  the  moon  com- 
pared to  that  of  the  earth  is  about  one-eightieth, 
making  it  altogether  the  largest  satellite  relatively, 
either  lunar  or  planetary.  The  mass  of  the  sun 
for  instance  is  800  times  more  than  that  of  all  the 
planets  together,  and  the  largest  satellite  of  Jupiter 
is  more  than  10,000  times  less  in  mass  than  the 
planet  itself.  Our  moon  seems  to  have  united 
into  one  huge  body  comparatively  what  elsewhere 
separated  into  many  small  bodies  in  the  evolution 
of  planets  from  the  sun  as  well  as  of  satellites 
from  the  planets.  In  this  regard  our  moon  is  a 
striking  exception  in  the  Solar  System. 

We  may  consider  the  evolution  of  the  sun,  plan- 
ets and  their  moons  from  their  primeval  nebula  as 
the  evolution  of  the  Hehosphere.  This  is  sup- 
posed to  be  at  present  in  its  bloom,  if  not  verging 
toward  its  decline.  Some  scientists  suppose  that 
quite  one-half  of  the  sun's  thermal  energy  has  been 
already  dissipated  into  the  space  outside  of  the 
system.  What,  then,  lies  before  us?  This  topic 
will  recur  in  another  connection. 

IV.  We  can  now  see  the  genesis  of  those  two 
forces — centrifugal   and   centripetal — with    which 


262  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Newton  sought  to  explain  the  orbital  movement 
of  the  Earth  around  the  Sun.  At  present  they  are 
rather  discredited;  really  they  do  not  explain,  but 
introduce  a  new  difficulty;  for  they  are  in  themselves 
contradictory  at  the  pivotal  point.  Each  has  to 
turn  into  the  other  just  when  it  ought  to  go  the 
opposite  way.  Moreover,  the  fact  is  that  the  so- 
called  centrifugal  force  is  properly  tangential,  but 
is  deflected  at  every  point  into  a  curve  by  Gravi- 
tation. We  may  conceive,  therefore,  that  the  cir- 
cular movement  of  the  earth  in  its  orbit  is  the 
resultant  of  Rotation  and  Gravitation  continuously 
working  and  combining  along  with  momentum  to 
one  effect. 

Orbital  circularity  is,  accordingly,  an  ever-pres- 
ent process  between  Matter  gravitative,  and  Mo- 
tion rotative.  The  earth  as  eject  of  the  whirling 
sun,  also  whirls  and  moves  away  by  itself;  but  as 
material  it  is  still  drawn  by  its  powerful  ejector. 
The  outcome  is  the  terrestrial  round,  always  re- 
turning into  itself  at  every  point.  The  strain  for 
unity  and  the  strain  for  separation  results  in  a 
movement  which  keeps  forever  separating,  yet 
coming  back. 

It  is  said  in  the  books  that  the  greater  the  ve- 
locity of  rotation,  the  greater  the  centrifugal  force, 
which  is  declared  to  be  "proportional  to  the  scjuare 
of  the  velocity  and  inversely  as  the  radius  of  the 
circle  described."  Rotation  in  general  has  the 
tendency  to  tear  asunder  the  body  and  to  fling  from 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  263 

the  center  its  fragments,  which  also  rotate.  In 
this  sense  rotation  may  be  conceived  as  the  imme- 
diate genetic  act  of  Matter,  in  which  a  body  is  com- 
pelled to  beget  other  similar  bodies  through  Mo- 
tion— the  creative,  or  here  the  separative  principle, 
being  itself  just  the  Separating  of  the  primordial 
Cosmos.  Undoubtedly  cohesion  varies  the  point 
at  which  this  material  fissipation  takes  place;  but 
the  most  cohesive  body  will  at  last  yield  to  rota- 
tory speed  and  fly  apart  into  new  bodies,  which 
may  become  a  system. 

The  Earth  was  thrown  off  by  rotation  from  the 
revolving  Heliosphere  as  nebula,  and  was  endowed 
with  a  rotatory  movement  of  its  own.  The  phys- 
ical cause  is  that  the  outermost  rim  or  layer 
moves  faster  than  the  one  next  to  it  and  so  on  till 
the  center.  This  difference  of  speed  in  the  adjoin- 
ing parts  nuist  force  them  asunder  if  the  speed  be 
sufficiently  great.  The  one  part  or  particle  goes 
faster  than  the  other  and  must  leave  it  if  the  rota- 
tion be  increased.  Of  course  the  line  of  cleavage 
of  a  mass  will  be  found  at  some  stratum  of  weaker 
cohesion.  Moreover,  the  separated  body  being 
still  material  and  extended,  will  have  different  mo- 
menta on  the  outside  and  on  the  inside;  the  out- 
side layer  moving  more  rapidly  will  pitch  down- 
ward and  start  the  whirl.  So  we  have  already  seen 
the  stone  spin  from  a  shng  on  the  earth's  surface. 

Rotation  is,  therefore,  the  differencing  principle 
of  the  Systemic  Cosmos;  it  separates  and  then  in- 


264  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

dividualizes  cosmical  bodies,  endowing  them  with 
itself,  namely,  Rotation.  The  primeval  revolving 
Heliosphere  of  nebula  has  evolved  and  organized 
itself  through  this  principle  into  the  present  Solar 
System.  And  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  sepa- 
rated nebulous  Heliosphere  goes  back  to  its  unsep- 
arated  period  in  some  far  greater  mass,  probably 
like  the  spiral  of  Canes  Venatici.  On  the  other 
hand  Gravitation  remains  the  unifying  principle 
and  works  in  counteraction  of  Rotation.  Such  is 
the  dualism  which  has  been  uncovered  in  the  Sys- 
temic Cosmos,  this  being  at  bottom  the  .process  of 
these  two  opposite  energies  always  forming  a  third 
and  thus  reconciling  their  dualism.  Indeed  we 
may  trace  back  the  foregoing  opposites.  Rotation, 
and  Gravitation,  to  the  primal  elemental  dualism 
of  the  Cosmos,  Motion  and  Matter,  out  of  which 
Descartes  would  construct  the  physical  universe 
(see  preceding  p.  39).  Of  course  the  Systemic 
Cosmos  shows  these  elemental  forms  more  highly 
evolved,  in  fact  realized. 

The  original  forces  which  threw  off  the  planets 
are  still  at  work ;  the  sun  continues  both  his  Grav- 
itation and  Rotation.  No  planetary  body  falls 
back  into  the  central  luminary,  which  attracts  and 
then  repels  its  children.  When  they  come  into  its 
sphere  of  Rotation,  they  are  ejected  anew  (in  peri- 
helion) ;  but  as  they  recede,  the  influence  of  solar 
Rotation  grows  less,  and  Gi'avitation  relatively 
increases,  till  repulsion  changes  into  attraction  (in 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  265 

aphelipn).  The  Rotation  of  the  sun  exerts  a  per- 
ennial power  as  well  as  its  Gravitation;  the  planet 
does  not  have  to  be  conjoined  to  it  in  order  to 
experience  the  centrifugal  influence  of  its  Rota- 
tion. Thus  the  planet  with  its  momentum  is 
under  the  sway  of  two  opposite  solar  forces.  The 
rotating  planet  preserves  its  separation,  or  its  in- 
dividuality, through  the  rotating  sun,  which  is 
always  begetting  it  anew. 

Unfailingly  the  question  springs  up  concerning 
this  Rotation,  which  seems  to  be  something  pri- 
mordially  given,  or  coming  in  from  the  outside. 
The  rotating  Heliosphere  has  to  impart  its  gift  to 
its  planetary  offspring,  who  in  turn  transmit  the 
same  to  their  satellitic  children.  Even  the  little 
terrestrial  pebble  may  share  in  it  for  a  brief  mo- 
ment under  right  conditions.  But  whence  does 
the  Heliosphere  get  it?  Seemingly  from  a  still 
vaster  rotating  body  which  on  its  part  must  have 
received  it  from  a  yet  more  primordial  source, 
possibly  from  what  wc  may  conceive  as  the  Cos- 
mosphcre.  And  still  the  search  for  the  source  is 
not  quieted.  Original  Motion  must  have  been 
Rotation,  the  primal  utterance  of  the  All-Self  in 
Nature,  of  that  which  we  have  repeatedly  named 
the  Pampsychosis,  which  is  within  itself  this  entire 
process,  now  appearing  external  and  visible  in  the 
Systemic  Cosmos.  Rotation  has  thus  a  marvelous 
pedigree,  coming  down  from  the  First  Motion 
through  the  entire  physical  universe  and  clothing 


266  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

itself  in  manifestation  from  the  largest  nebula  to 
the'  smallest  speck  of  dust. 

V.  The  enormous  projective  power  of  rotating 
spheres  in  the  period  of  world-making  has  been 
shown  in  the  calculations  of  Mr.  G.  H.  Darwin, 
(son  of  the  great  founder  of  evolution)  who  states 
that  some  54  millions  of  years  ago  the  Earth- 
made  a  complete  revolution  on  its  axis  in  three 
hours.  It  was  then  in  a  hquid  state,  and  from  its 
equator  threw  off  the  moon,  which  also  revolved 
in  the  same  time.  Such  was  the  Earth's  pri- 
mal creative  act  of  Rotation;  it  begat  another 
Earth  rotating  on  an  axis.  But  Gravitation 
did  not  fail;  the  mighty  tangential  outpush  was 
deflected  into  an  orbital  motion,  and  moreover 
each  body  being  Hquid  produced  tides  in  the 
other,  which  acted  as  a  brake  upon  its  rapid  Ro- 
tation. The  moon  is  still  exerting  that  brake  in 
the  terrestrial  ocean,  causing  the  earth  to  revolve 
slower  and  consequently  making  the  days  longer. 
The  same  author  estimates  that  our  day  must  con- 
tinue to  lengthen  until  it  is  70  times  what  it  is 
now,  until  there  are  about  five  and  one-fourth 
days  in  the  year.  But  for  this  consummation  150 
millions  of  years  will  be  required. 

Can  a  tangential  force  on  the  surface  of  the 
Earth  be  artificially  produced,  which  will  equal 
gravitation  and  unite  with  the  same  in  an  orbit? 
A  mathematical  calculation  has  been  made  that  a 
ball  fired  horizontally  from  the  top  of  a  mountain 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  267 

at  the  rate  of  five  miles  a  second  would  pass 
round  the  globe,  the  resistance  of  the  air  not  being 
counted.  This  is  seventeen  times  faster  than  the 
rotation  of  the  earth  at  the  equator.  Such  an  ob- 
ject would  be  in  effect  another  moon,  and  prompts 
the  question  whether  man  is  yet  to  become  the 
maker  of  his  own  satellites.  It  is  also  calculated 
that  a  projectile  hurled  upward  at  the  rate  of 
seven  miles  a  second  would  overcome  terrestrial 
gravitation  completely  and  fly  off  into  space  with- 
out return.  Evidently  the  Moon  was  detached 
when  the  Earth  was  just  at  the  right  velocity  to 
throw  it  off  by  Rotation  yet  to  keep  it  also  by 
Gravitation.  The  three  elements  of  the  genesis  of 
its  completed  motion^rotatory,  tangential,  and 
gravitational — were  all  united  and  reconciled  in 
its  system. 

As  the  Moon  and  Earth  are  both  independent 
bodies,  each  has  its  field  of  gravitation,  between 
which  a  boundary  must  be  conceived.  This  also 
has  been  drawn  in  exact  measurement.  The  mean 
distance  between  the  two  is  238,500  miles;  the  line 
of  separation  runs  22,800  miles  from  the  Mooa,  and 
215,700  from  the  Earth.  A  projectile  shot  toward 
the  Earth  from  the  Moon  at  the  rate  of  a  little 
more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  per  second  would  cross 
the  line,  while  in  the  opposite  direction  more  than 
four  times  as  much  speed  would  be  required.  If 
Terra  and  Luna  ever  get  to  bombarding  each  other 
we   on  our  side  shall  have  to  burn  more  powder. 


268  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

The  problem  of  running  l^oundary  lines  between 
systems  is  one  which  astronomy  has  hardly  yet 
grappled  with  seriously.  Gravitation  is  supposed 
to  cross  these  lines,  and  yet  with  a  certain  limita- 
tion of  its  power  at  the  frontier.  Light  certainly 
is  not  stopped  by  them,  probably  not  Heat.  If 
Rotation  be  an  influence  which  extends  beyond 
the  body  rotating,  is  it  the  force  which  is  halted  at 
the  border  and  turned  back  upon  its  own  system, 
thus  delimiting  the  same?  The  original  nebula  of 
our  Solar  System  is  supposed  to  have  extended  far 
beyond  the  orbit  of  Neptune,  as  yet  our  farthest 
planet,  and  it  may  have  reached  to  the  aforesaid 
boundary  Une.  This  vast  nebula  must  have  re- 
volved as  a  whole  and  thus  have  marked  out  its 
primordial  limits  through  rotating  on  an  axis. 
This  Rotation  is  still  practically  kept  up  by  the 
rotating  uniformity  of  the  sun  and  planets  in  the 
position  of  their  planes,  in  the  direction  of  their 
motions,  and  in  the  inclination  of  their  orbits. 
There  rises  the  further  question,  Is  not  the  whole 
system  still  rotating  in  its  flight  through  the  skies? 

Our  Sun  is  a  star  of  the  Milky  Way;  we  call  it 
a  body  of  the  Galactosphere,  and  hence  of  the 
Cosmosphere.  The  nearest  star  to  it  is  Alpha  of 
the  Centaur,  whose  distance  from  the  sun  has  been 
calculated  to  be  more  than  9,000  times  the  radius 
of  the  orbit  of  Neptune,  the  outermost  known 
planet  of  the  Solar  System.  This  vast  tract  would 
seem  to  indicate  the  manner  in  which   the  stellar 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  269 

systems  are  separated  and  are  given  their  own 
field  of  operations.  The  great  distance  lessens 
though  it  does  not  destroy  the  force  of  gravitation 
between  the  two  central  suns,  each  of  which  can 
thus  control  its  planetary  sphere  without  much  in- 
terference. A  peculiar  fact  about  this  next  neigh- 
bor is  that  it  is  a  double  sun,  each  solar  member 
revolving  about  the  other  at  a  distance  which  is 
estimated  to  be  a  httle  greater  than  that  of  the 
planet  I'ranus  from  our  sun.  The  mass  of  Alpha 
of  the  Centaur  is  considerably  greater  than  that  of 
our  sun,  and  hence  has  a  greater  power  of  attrac- 
tion ;  still  the  two  systems  are  relatively  independ- 
ent. In  a  direction  toward  opposite  is  the  second 
nearest  neighbor,  61  of  the  Swan,  also  a  double 
star,  whose  distance  from  us  is  set  down  at  43  bil- 
lions of  miles.  On  this  side,  then,  lies  a  still 
broader  belt  of  separation.  Our  system  and  that 
of  Alpha  of  the  Centaur  have  thus  a  proximity, 
which  probably  has  its  past  history  reaching  back 
to  a  common  primal  nebula,  and  which  may  have 
a  future  history  when  both  have  dissipated  their 
heat  and  light  and  have  become  floating  corpses 
ready  for  a  new  transformation. 

The  sun  with  its  retinue  of  planets  is  also  mov- 
ing through  space,  doubtless  in  an  enormous  orbit, 
whose  curvature  is  so  slight  that  it  has  not  yet 
been  detected.  But  upon  this  subject  the  ob- 
servations are  very  recent.  The  solar  system  is 
said  to  be  sweeping  toward  Vega  of  the  Lyre  at 


270  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

the  rate  of  400  to  500  millions  of  miles  a  year. 
Different  astronomers  give  different  stars  as  ''the 
apex  of  the  sun's  motion/'  or  the  point  toward 
which  it  is  making;  but  the  present  scientific  con- 
sensus seems  to  be  fixing  upon  Vega.  So  the  broad 
tracts  ot  celestial  separation  are  traversed  by  sys- 
tems surging  in  every  direction,  probably  in  orbits, 
but  some  observers  say  in  right  lines.  Will  these 
bodies  ever  collide?  That,  indeed,  has  been  and 
will  continue  to  be  a  puzzling  astronomical  prob- 
lem, in  spite  of  the  assuring  calculations  of  La- 
grange and  Laplace. 

If  our  sun  is  moving  in  an  orbit  around  a  center 
and  the  other  stars  are  doing  likewise,  the  question 
rises  concerning  the  character  of  this  center.  Some 
have  supposed  that  it  is  not  luminous,  but  is  an 
invisible  dead  mass  of  matter  of  enormous  propor- 
tion keeping  the  universe  in  order  by  gravitation. 
A  recent  astronomer,  taking  as  center  a  point  near 
the  orbit  of  the  double  star  65  of  the  Fishes,  has 
calculated  the  time  of  a  complete  revolution  of  the 
solar  system,  which  he  makes  twenty  millions  of 
years.  Every  star  in  our  universe  (seemingly  in 
our  Galactosphere)  is  regarded  as  moving  about 
the  same  center,  forming  one  stellar  or  rather  ga- 
lactic system — the  unification  of  all  solar  systems, 
estimated  at  a  hundred  millions. 

Coming  back  to  the  systemic  boundary  line,  we 
may  note  that  astronomers  have  drawn  it  between 
our  system  and  that  of  Alpha  of  the   Centaur  at 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  271 

114,000  astronomical  units  distant  from  our  sun 
which  once  had  on  that  hnc  its  primal  nebulous 
border.  Adjoining  it  and  probably  one  with  it  was 
the  nebula  of  Alpha  of  the  Centaur,  which  has  now 
solidified  into  a  binary  sun  at  a  distance  of  161,000 
astronomical  units  (this  unit  is  the  average  dis- 
tance of  the  earth  from  the  sun  used  as  a  unit  of 
measure  for  very  great  distances).  If  this  meas- 
urement be  correct,  on  the  side  toward  the  nearest 
stellar  neighbor  our  known  planets  do  not  extend 
their  orbits  to  hardly  more  than  one  four-thou- 
sandth of  the  distance  to  the  boundary  line,  Nep- 
tune being  only  30  astronomical  units  from  the  sun 
(out  of  the  114,000).  One  speculates  about  what 
is  playing  in  that  vast  space.  Is  it  empty,  a 
mere  deserted  borderland  between  two  systems, 
which  are  thus  kept  asunder  lest  they  might  lock 
horns.  Many  comets  doubtless  lurk  there  till 
they  return  to  the  sun.  Unseen  planets  have  been 
and  still  are  supposed  to  be  circling  around  our 
central  luminary  in  vast  orbits  through  that  seem- 
ingly unoccupied  domain,  though  it  is  under  solar 
control.  Indeed  three  extra-Neptunian  planets 
have  been  heralded  at  different  times,  but  they 
have  not  yet  been  seen.  One  of  these  was  placed 
at  a  distance  of  three  hundred  astronomical  units 
from  the  sun,  ten  times  further  than  the  orbit  of 
Neptune. 

The  next  stellar   neighbor  on  the   other  side  of 
our  system  (61  of  the  Swan)  is  toward  twice  as 


272  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

far  awaj^  as  Alpha  of  the  Centaur,  and  furnishes  a 
harder  problem  for  those  who  would  try  to  run  its 
boundary  line.  We  may  see,  however,  that  the 
sun  with  its  known  planets  takes  up  but  a  small 
area  of  its  total  spheral  influence,  constituting  a 
little  circular  disc,  as  it  were,  in  the  heart  of  a 
huge  surrounding  globe  of  space.  Indeed  the  en- 
tire Heliosphere  may  be  regarded  as  a  molecule  of 
the  Pancosmos,  a  potty  globular  pellet  which  is  or- 
ganized with  its  own  whirling  -atomic  system  at 
its  center.  This  conception  of  the  cosmical  mole- 
cule we  shall  find  reproduchig  itself  under  various 
forms  in  the  recent  view  of  matter,  whose  atomic 
constituents,  though  invisible,  are  held  to  be,  each 
of  them,  a  system  of  corpuscles  or  electrons, 
which  are  rotating  in  their  own  space  within  the 
limits  of  the  atom.  Thus  the  Solar  System  be- 
comes a  kind  of  center  for  illuminating  not  only 
the  infinitely  large  in  the  stellar  world,  but  also 
the  infinitely  small  in  the  atomic  world.  The  or- 
ganization of  the  Cosmos  is  in  this  way  being 
transferred  to  the  organization  of  the  Diacosmos. 
VI.  The  nebular  theory  in  its  latest  phases  may 
be  supposed  to  account  for  the  evolution  of  a  sun 
and  its  planetary  system  out  of  the  primeval  fire- 
mist.  But  evidently  this  is  only  one  segment  of 
a  great  cycle  of  evolution ;  so  we  cannot  help  ask- 
ing after  the  complementary  segments.  This  self- 
luminous  nebula  with  which  we  have  to  start,  since 
it  strikes  for  us  the  first  light — whence  does  it  come? 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  273 

Then,  after  we  have  seen  the  sun  (or  star)  with  its 
system  evolve,  what  is  its  evolution  through  the 
millions  of  years?  For  it  evidently  does  not  stop 
unfolding.  It  would  seem  to  have  its  birth,  its 
culmination,  its  decline  and  death.  Can  the 
stages  of  such  a  stellar  life  be  observed  and  the 
various  stars  be  classified  as  young,  middle-aged, 
old?  Thus  the  firmament  will  be  filled  by  an  seon- 
lived  population  analogous  to  our  year-lived  hu- 
manity. 

The  first  fact  was  one  which  has  long  been  ob- 
served: the  difference  in  color  among  the  stars. 
Some  are  red,  some  are  yellow,  some  are  white  with 
many  intervening  gradations,  embracing  all  varie- 
ties of  the  spectrum .  If  an  iron  bar  or  poker  is  heated 
to  incandescence,  it  is  at  first  red,  then  yellow, 
till  it  reaches  white.  Evidently  these  colors  de- 
pend upon  the  degree  of  temperature.  As  the 
stars  have  metals  in  their  composition,  and  are 
probably  the  original  smithy  in  which  metals  are 
not  merely  forged  but  actually  created,  the  anal- 
ogy of  hot  iron  has  been  transferred  to  them.  The 
stars  show  different  degrees  of  temperature  and  in 
accord  therewith  different  stages  of  life.  They  are 
increasing,  culminating,  declining  in  heat  or  en- 
ergy, and  so  represent  the  various  stellar  Hfe- 
periods. 

It  is  plain  that  a  difficulty  appears  at  this  point. 
Is  the  given  star,  observed  just  now  as  having  a 
certain  color,  rising  or  falling  in  heat — is  it  on  the 


274  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

ascent  or  on  the  decline?  Arcturus,  for  instance, 
has  a  yellowish  intermediate  light — is  it  moving  up 
or  down  the  scale?  For  the  body,  getting  hotter 
goes  through  the  same  gradation  of  colors  that  it 
does  in  getting  cooler.  Sir  William  Huggins,  the 
pioneer  in  this  field,  says  that  the  primal  stage  of 
a  star  is  bluish-white,  then  passing  to  white, 
yeHow,  red.  The  classification  of  stellar  spectra 
into  types  was  first  made  by  Secchi,  but  his  work 
was  modified  by  others,  especially  by  Vogel  whose 
three  types  are  now  commonly  accepted.  These 
are  as  follows: 

(1)  The  hottest  stars:  gaseous,  longest  spec- 
trum— ^hydrogen  and  helium,  intense  bluish  and 
white  light. 

(2)  Less  hot:  metallic  lines  appear,  intermedi- 
ate spectrum,  yellow-white  light.  In  this  group 
our  own  sun  probably  belongs  with  Capella,  Arc- 
turus, etc. 

(3)  The  least  hot:  carbon  appears  in  spectra 
with  its  flutings;  many  chemical  elements  and  even 
chemical  compounds,  shades  of  red. 

In  this  tabular  statement  there  is  indicated  an 
evolution  of  the  various  chemical  elements  from 
one  or  two  which  exist  only  in  the  hottest  stars. 
Hydrogen  would  seem  to  be  the  primary  element, 
the  lightest  of  them  all.  The  low  heat  of  the  red 
stars  permits  or  perchance  aids  the  formation  of 
chemical  compounds,  and  thus  begins  to  fore- 
shadow our  terrestrial  substances.     All  this  is  de- 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  275 

clargd  to  indicate  a  cooling  down  of  the  stars,  and 
a  slow  decline  of  stellar  life.  The  result  is,  from 
this  point  of  view,  that  the  physical  universe  ap- 
pears to  be  doomed  to  extinction.  The  original 
endowment  of  heat  or  energy  is  being  dissipated, 
gradually  squandered  through  space,  like  our  sun- 
light. The  star-life,  which  is  the  sun-life,  is  ebbing, 
and  with  it  must  go  all  other  life. 

Noteworthy  is  the  fact  that  the  foregoing  three 
stages  or  types  are  gradations  of  a  decline  in  tem- 
perature, and  hence  show  a  movement  toward 
cessation  of  stellar  heat  and  Hght.  The  result  is 
that  recent  science  at  this  point  strikes  a  melan- 
choly note  of  the  final  evanishment  not  only  of 
life,  but  of  the  sun  and  even  of  the  stars.  But  is 
there  no  return  out  of  this  dark  negative  phase  of 
the  Cosmos?  The  first  type  represents  the  hottest 
stars,  the  maximum  of  heat;  then  how  did  this 
get  to  be?  The  stellar  evolution  must  be  upward 
to  the  maximum  as  well  as  downward  to  darkness 
and  coolness.  The  nebula  may  develo}i  into  a 
sun  and  its  system,  but  such  a  sun  has  not  yet 
attained  its  culmination;  it  is  not  yet  at  its  hottest. 
The  possibility  is  therefore  suggested  that  the  rise 
must  be  directly  connected  with  the  fall;  and  that 
the  fall  must  somehow  be  brought  around  through 
darkness  and  linked  into  the  rise. 

There  is  a  distinguished  scientist  who  drops  the 
elegiac  strain  of  universal  dissolution,  and  gives 
rehef  by  showing  an  evolutionary  circle   of  stellar 


276  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

development.  On  the  whole  astronomers  are  in- 
clined to  question  his  view,  and  undoubtedly  it  is 
weak  in  proof  at  various  points.  Still  as  a  theo- 
retical forecast  of  what  is  coming,  it  seems  to  us 
very  significant,  indeed  prophetic. 

The  allusion  is  to  the  conception  of  this  subject 
unfolded  in  Sir  Norman  Lockyer's  work  on  The 
Meteoritic  Hypothesis.  Such  a  table,  however, 
hardly  gives  the  full  sweep  of  its  thought  which 
deals  with  the  whole  cycle  of  stellar  evolution — 
from  cold  to  hot,  from  hot  to  cold,  and  back  again 
to  the  start.  We  may  divide  this  cycle  into  three 
segments  at  least  (possibly  a  fourth  might  be  in- 
serted). Lockyer's  chief  distinction  between  stars 
pertains  to  those  of  a  rising  and  those  of  a  falling 
temperature.  Through  his  spectroscope  he  formed 
a  considerable  number  of  groups  of  stars  which 
showed  an  equal  temperature,  having  the  same 
elements  and  the  same  length  of  spectrum.  But 
in  a  stellar  group  of  the  same  temperature  he  ob- 
served a  new  difference:  some  had  thick  hydro- 
gen lines  and  thin  metallic  lines,  others  quite  the 
reverse.  Now  comes  Lockyer's  pivotal  inference: 
the  thicker  hydrogen  lines  wdth  the  thinner  me- 
tallic lines  indicate  a  body  getting  cooler,  while 
the  reverse  indicate  the  body  getting  hotter.  With 
this  test  Lockyer  constructs  a  table  of  stars  of  in- 
creasing and  decreasing  temperatures.  Moreover, 
he  gives  no  less  than  ten  different  grades  of  each 
kind  of  stars.    According  to  him  the  hottest  stars 


THE  SYSTEMIC  DOSMOS.  277 

are  t\YO  in  the  constellation  Argo ;  the  least  hot  are 
two  in  Pisces,  almost  ready  to  lapse  into  darkness; 
between  these  extremes  are  eight  other  gradations 
of  descent,   two  of  which  are  represented  by  the 
very  brilliant    stars,    Sirius  and   Arcturus.     The 
coolest  rising  star  is  Antares,   followed  by  eight 
others  in  an  ascending  line  (among  them  the  prom- 
inent stars  Aldebaran,    Polaris,  and  Rigel,)  up  to 
the    apex  of  the  two  hottest   stars  in  Argo.     So 
much  for  Lockyer's  double  table  of  rise  and  fall. 
But  this  is  not  the   end.     The  star  passing  into 
darkness  and  coldness    becomes  a  meteorite,  and 
possibly  through  explosion  or  collision,  or  both,  is 
broken  up  into  many  meteorites  of  which  the  cos- 
mical  spaces   are  full.     By   means    of  attraction 
they  gather  in  vast  swarms,  and   through  mutual 
friction  they  begin  to  generate  heat  and  then  light. 
The  nebula,  advancing  again  to  starhood,  is  com- 
posed of  this  original  meteoric  stuff,  which  contin- 
ues to  rise  in  heat  and  luminosity  through  its  own 
inner  bombardment    of    particles.     Somehow     in 
this  manner  a  dead  star  passes  through  its  grave 
and    enters   upon    its    resurrection.     There  is  no 
doubt  that   here  the   proof  is  notable    for  its  ab- 
sence.    We  find  no  tell-tale  light,  not  even  that  of 
a  hazy  nebula,  to  whisper  even   the  existence  of 
such  an  underworld.     It  would  seem  that  the  star, 
after  a  bright,  radiant   existence  in  the  Heavens 
above,    must  pass   through    a   dark    Purgatorial 
journey  to  its  regeneration.     So  there  is  a  stellar 
palingenesis  as  well  as  a  human. 


278  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Such  is  the  third  segment,  the  invisible  one,  of 
the  total  evolutionary  cycle  of  the  star,  the  other 
two  segments  being  visible.  In  a  general  way  we 
have  to  construe  from  their  arcs  the  complete 
circle,  though  the  hne  certainly  runs  in  the  dark. 
This  segment  begins  with  the  star  vanishing, 
taking  a  plunge  into  night,  and  then  emerges  with 
first  faint  dawn  of  nebulous  twilight,  like  that  seen 
seen  in  many  nebulae.  From  that  point  we  have 
observed  the  celestial  fire-mist  evolving  into  a  star 
which  rises  to  its  maximum  of  heat  and  then  be- 
gins to  drop  toward  evanishment. 

It  must  be  repeated  that  all  this  is  but  a  theoret- 
ical outlook  over  a  field  concerning  which  science  is 
still  to  furnish  its  proof.  So  much,  however,  can 
be  pre-affirmed :  the  burnt-out  suns  of  the  Cosmos, 
like  the  corresponding  human  corpse,  is  in  some 
way  reduced  to  its  original  elements,  not  merely 
to  cosmic  dust,  but  doubtless  to  the  primordial 
ether,  of  which  it  must  be  re-made,  and  with  which 
it  must  begin  over  again.  All  the  stars  having 
run  their  course  of  illumination,  are  to  be  sent 
back  to  their  first  fountain  of  existence,  taking  a 
fresh  dip  in  their  original  protoplasm  of  Matter 
itself,  during  a  sleep  in  the  millennial  night  of  their 
cycle.  A  similar  round  man  goes  through  every 
twenty-four  hours,  the  earth  every  year;  nations 
also,  rising  and  falling,  seem  to  require  such  a  regen- 
erative baptism  after  a  period  of  a  few  centuries; 
the  sun  himself  must  take  such  a  dip,  say  once  in 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  279 

a  million  of  centuries,  though  time  in  such  a  case 
cannot  be  counted  or  conceived. 

Such,  then,  are  the  three  segments  of  what  has 
been  called  the  cycle  of  the  stellar  evolution.  One 
of  them  embraces  a  world-subsidence  moving  to- 
ward a  world-emergence,  through  a  sunless  pas- 
sage. We  behold  a  rise,  a  fall,  a  return  to  the 
beginning — a  construction,  a  destruction,  a  re-con- 
struction. We  may  well  think  that  this  world- 
evolving  round  of  the  universe  is  the  colossal  outer 
image  of  the  inner  process  of  the  Pampsychosis, 
more  nearly  its  visible  external  counterpart  than 
any  other  shape  of  Nature,  being  quite  all-embrac- 
ing. 

VII.  There  is  thus  brought  before  us  the  con- 
ception that  each  individual  star  (including  our 
own  sun)  is  passing  through  a  cycle  of  existence 
which  has  its  analogy  to  a  human  life.  The  star 
as  individual  is  born,  rises  to  its  greatest  intensity, 
which  is  manifested  chiefly  by  its  Heat,  and  also 
its  Light,  then  gradually  declines  toward  extinction, 
which  is  marked  by  what  has  been  termed  its 
Heat-death  (Wiirmetod).  This  is  practically  its 
dissolution  into  its  original  particles  or  atoms, 
which  in  one  way  or  other  are  sent  flying  through 
the  celestial  spaces  till  the  reconstitution  of  a  to- 
tally new  individual  star  begins.  Such  is  supposed 
to  be  the  round  of  the  star-stuff  in  the  physical 
universe. 

The  next  thought  is  that  the   many  millions  of 


280  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

stellar  individuals  which  we  behold  in  the  sky,  are 
just  now  in  some  stage  of  this  round  more  or  less 
advanced.  A  chief  object  of  astronomical  science 
is  getting  to  be  the  discovery  and  description  oi 
the  present  stage  of  each  particular  star,  begin- 
ning with  the  most  important  ones.  We  must 
here  on  earth  find  out  what  the  stars  are  doing, 
with  the  assurance  that  they  are  engaged  in  some 
important  work  of  the  universe.  They  are  associ- 
ated in  some  great  end,  each  is  performing  its 
part  in  the  vast  social  totality  of  the  Pancosmos ; 
what  this  part  is  must  yet  be  precisely  determined. 
It  seems  to  be  generally  conceded  that  one  of  their 
functions  is  the  making  of  the  chemical  elements; 
hydrogen  or  proto-hydrogen  appears  in  the  hottest 
stars,  later  comes  our  life-giving  oxygen,  and 
finally  carbon.  It  would  seem  as  if  in  this  stellar 
evolution'the  conditions  of  life,  as  we  know  it  ter- 
restrially, were  in  the  i)rocess  of  elaboration.  Mr. 
Lockyer  makes  much  of  the  fact  that  sodium  is 
found  in  the  hottest  stars  and  also  in  our  sea 
water,  whose  salt  contains  so  much  sodium.  Ani- 
mal Hfe  is  supposed  to  have  started  in  the  sea. 
Man  still  uses  salt  in  his  food,  employing  appar- 
ently an  element  which  was  elaborated  for  him 
millions  of  years  ago  when  our  sun  was  at  its  hot- 
test and  before  the  earth  was  detached  from  the 
Heliosphere.  \'egctables  feed  on  liquids  and  gases 
whose  elements  had  to  be  generated  in  the  grand 
cosmical  laboratory  which  we  have  seen   at  work. 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  281 

Animals  take  chiefly  vegetables  and  other  animals 
for  sustenance,  yet  they  too  require  the  gas  and 
the  liquid.  The  elemental  conditions  of  life  seem 
to  go  back  to  a  stellar  evolution. 

The  tendency  is  at  present  to  reduce  all  chem- 
ical elements  to  one  original  matter  out  of  which 
they  arose.  All  the  elemental  diversity  which  we 
behold  is  thus  unified.  Chemistry  did  a  great 
work  in  decomposing  the  myriads  of  our  terrestrial 
compounds  into  the  seventy  or  eighty  elements 
which  it  declared  to  be  ultimate  and  indecompos- 
able. But  now  spectroscopic  analysis  of  the  stars 
is  affirming  that  these  elements  are  themselves 
compounds  which  are  found  decompounded  in  the 
enormous  heat  of  the  stellar  laboratoiy.  For  in- 
stance the  assertion  is  made  that  "iron  is  a  com- 
pound into  the  ultimate  formation  of  which  hydro- 
gen may  enter"  or  other  gases  (Lockyer,  Inorganic 
Evolution,  p.  82). 

The  position  of  Heat  in  this  far-reaching  cosmical 
development  is  very  striking.  It  is  taken  to  be 
the  unifier  or  simplifier  of  all  elemental  difference. 
Our  chemical  appliances  can  produce  no  such  Heat 
as  that  of  the  hottest  stars.  The  most  powerful 
battery  gives  a  spark  barely  equal  in  intensity  to 
the  coolest  star  (that  in  Pisces) .  Our  sun  is  hotter 
(say  8,000  degrees  Centigrade),  but  the  most  in- 
tensely heated  stars,  those  in  Argo,  are  supposed 
to  reach  20,000  degree?  and  even  30,000.  Of  course 
these  figures  are  conjectui'al  and  are  simply  in- 


282  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tended  to  hint  the  gradations  of  stellar  develop- 
ment. Heat  seems  intimately  connected  with  the 
earhest  form  of  hydrogen,  which  itself  may  be  a 
compound  of  some  more  primordial  element,  as 
certain  physicists  have  suggested.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  of  the  history  of  chemistry  that  Prout,  in 
1815,  long  before  the  discovery  of  spectral  analy- 
sis, held  that  hydrogen  was  really  the  first  element 
on  account  of  its  slight  atomic  weight,  and  that  the 
other  heavier  elements  were  made  or  evolved  (we 
may  say)  out  of  it.  Of  course  Prout  could  not  prove 
his  view  by  direct  experiment,  and  so  it  lapsed  for 
more  than  half  a  century,  till  recently  the  stars  in 
their  courses  appear  to  be  coming  to  its  proof.  As 
Heat  is  the  great  agent  of  expansion,  it  is  best 
manifested  by  hydrogen,  the  most  expansible  of 
all  the  elements;  the  two  may  be  thought  therein 
to  have  a  certain  primal  kinship,  hydrogen  being 
nearest  and  most  responsive  to  Heat.  In  fact 
the  surmise  has  dawned  that  Heat  itself  may  be 
the  primal  element  which  differentiates  itself  into 
all  the  rest,  being  a  mode  of  Motion  (as  the  state- 
ment runs)  and  consequently  a  mode  of  Matter, 
since  Matter  also  is  now  getting  to  be  considered 
a  form  or  mode  of  Motion  by  some  physicists. 
Thus  we  are  being  carried  up  by  the  new  science 
to  the  first  elements  with  which  the  Cosmos  starts 
— Motion  and  Matter.  At  present,  however,  the 
earliest  manifested  or  realized  elementalization  of 
the  universe  would  seem  to  be  this   proto-hydro- 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  283 

gen  which  is  apparently  produced  by  Heat  out  of 
the  nebulous  fire-mist. 

In  such  fashion  we  behold  the  struggle  of.  science 
to  reach  back  to  the  very  forge  of  the  particular- 
ized Cosmos  in  all  its  material  diversity.  How 
did  this  vast  multiplicity  of  bodies  and  their  con- 
stituent elements  arise?  Heat  is  the  cosmical 
power  of  unifying  such  diversity,  and  of  reducing 
it  back  to  its  one  elemental  origin,  whatever  that 
may  be.  The  earth  with  all  its  variety,  and  the 
sun  and  all  the  planets  are  now  marching  toward 
their  starry  fire-bath,  into  which  they  have  to  be 
dipped  periodicall}'  for  regeneration,  say  once  in  a 
thousand  million  of  years.  Then  are  supposed  to 
be  begotten  a  new  sun  and  a  new  earth,  which, 
however,  again  enter  the  round.  Heat  we  may 
call  the  dialectic  of  the  diversified,  particularized 
universe  of  Matter,  which  through  its  own  collis- 
ions generates  the  Heat  undoing  it.  The  nebu- 
lous fire-mist  is  supposed  to  be  a  mutual  bombard- 
ment of  particles  till  they  become  self-luminous, 
and  finally  glow  in  a  stellar  furnace  which  fuses 
them  with  a  Heat  far  greater  than  that  of  our  sun. 
Thence  they  are  moulded  or  transformed  in  some 
unknown  way,  and  cool  down  into  an  ever-increas- 
ing diversity. 

One  of  the  stages  which  this  descent  of  cosmical 
Heat  reaches  is  that  of  terrestrial  life.  It  is  an 
astonishing  fact  that  animal  and  vegetable  vital- 
ity is  confined  to  so  few  degrees  of  the  thermal 


284  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

scale  of  the  Cosmos;  relatively  it  seems  to  be 
hardly  more  than  a  point  at  which  organic  evolu- 
tion interlinks  with  inorganic.  No  life,  as  we 
know  it,  is  there  in  stellar  or  solar  development, 
and  it  is  contained  merely  in  a  fraction  of  the 
earth's  history.  Man  has  arisen  and  existed  only 
in  a  fraction  of  this  fraction;  he  lives  in  a  limited 
measure  of  Heat,  of  which  too  much  or  too  little 
is  equally  fatal.  Is  the  end  of  this  colossal  inor- 
ganic evolution  to  produce  a  living  organism  on  a 
planet?  This  is  a  (question  that  properly  comes  up 
in  the  treatment  of  the  Order  of  Life,  or  the  Bio- 
cosmos,  which  is  the  third  main  stage  of  total  Nat- 
ure in  the  present  work  (see  preceding  p.  21). 

From  time  immemorial  the  sudden  appearance 
of  a  new  star  has  caused  speaulation  as  to  its  ori- 
gin. The  most  probable  ground  for  such  a  phe- 
nomenon is  some  kind  of  colHsion.  Lockyer 
thinks  that  it  comes  from  the  clash  between  a 
nebula  and  a  meteoric  stream.  Such  a  case  might 
be  regarded  as  the  birth  of  a  star,  which  thus  be- 
gins its  period  of  brightness,  and  starts  in  its  cycle 
of  rise,  culmination,  decline,  and  death.  Here, 
however,  enters  another  problem:  the  sudden  dis- 
appearance of  certain  stars.  In  fact  both  the  sud- 
den appearance  and  the  equally  sudden  disappear- 
ance of  a  star  have  been  strangely  united  in  a 
phenomenon  which  took  place  some  years  ago 
(February,  1901).  This  star  is  known  as  Nova 
Persei,  which    blazed  up  unexpectedly  and  in  a 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  285 

few  days  attained  the  brightness  of  Capella;  then 
it  began  to  wane,  and  with  httle  fluctuations  of 
luminosity  dwindled  to  a  barely  visible  point  of 
light.  This  cycle  of  birth,  culmination,  and  de- 
cline was  passed  through  not  in  a  milliard  of  years 
but  in  a  few  weeks.  The  conflagration  of  seons 
seems  to  have  occurred  all  at  once  from  causes 
unknown.  If  our  sun  had  taken  fire  and  burnt  up 
in  a  month  at  its  start  instead  of  doling  out  its 
heat  as  it  has  done  and  is  still  doing,  it  might  have 
furnished  a  parallel  to  Nova  Persei,  and  startled 
the  wondering  denizens  of  some  distant  planet. 
Of  course  we  terrestrials  would  never  have  been 
as  we  are;  possibly  all  of  our  constituent  ele- 
ments might  have  gone  into  some  other  solar 
system. 

Temporary  stars  have  been  often  observed  in 
the  past,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  they  in 
some  way  belong  to  the  total  stellar  system.  Be- 
sides the  theory  of  collision  already  given,  some 
scientists  hold  to  the  theory  of  internal  explosion 
— the  corpse  seemingly  being  blown  asunder  by 
its  own  gases  and  set  on  fire  by  its  own  friction. 
The  variable  star  appears  different  though  also  a 
marvel  of  the  skies.  The  best  known  is  Mira  Ceti, 
which  rises  at  times  to  the  second  magnitude, 
theii  declines  to  invisibility  for  five  months,  after 
which  it  gradually  emerges  to  its  supreme  bril- 
liancy. Its  total  round  takes  up  not  quite  one  of 
our  years — 331  days.     Another    famous   periodic 


286  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

star  is  Algol  (Beta  Persei)  which  in  less  than  three 
days  runs  through  its  cycle  of  variation,  which  is 
not  fully  two  magnitudes.  These  are  very  rapid 
changes,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  all 
stars  are  undergoing  similar  changes,  which  are 
probably  phases  of  internal  evolution.  The  com- 
parison is  usually  made  with  our  sun,  which  has 
its  periodic  return  of  solar  spots  every  eleven 
years.  There  is  also  a  problem  of  varying  scintil- 
lation of  the  stars,  which  has  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  astronomers. 

It  may  be  reasonably  affirmed  that  all  the  stars 
of  the  firmament  are  going  through  their  cycle  of 
individual  change,  lasting  from  a  few  hours  (like 
Algol)  to  hundreds  or  thousands  of  years.  They 
are  all  evolving,  we  may  say,  and  the  further  note- 
worthy fact  is  that  they  evolve  cyclically,  ever  re- 
turning upon  themselves  in  order  to  go  forward. 
The  Cosmos  seems  to  take  a  strange  delight  in 
rounding  both  the  Matter  and  Motion  of  the  celes- 
tial order;  the  stars  change  internally  in  cycles 
as  far  as  we  can  discern  their  behavior;  their  ex- 
ternal movement,  both  axial  and  orbital,  runs  into 
circularity.  It  is  conjectured  that  the  First  Mo- 
tion, parent  of  all  others,  must  have  been  circular. 
Still  further,  this  cosmical  character  is  consonant 
with  the  Self,  universal  and  individual,  which 
moves  and  evolves  quite  in  the  same  way,  and 
ultimately  must  have  come  from  the  same  cre- 
ative source.     So  we   behold  the   one    psychical 


THE  SYSTEMIC  COSMOS.  287 

process  pervading  and  ordering  tiie  universe,  botii 
inner  and  outer, 

VIII.  We  must  now  bring  to  a  close  this  some- 
what discursive  introduction,  necessary  on  account 
of  the  present  state  of  the  science  (as  it  seems  to 
us)  whose  general  trend  and  character  we  have 
sought  to  indicate  under  the  title  of  the  Systemic 
Cosmos.  But  the  distinctive  word  here  employed 
demands  the  system;  astronomy  also  calls  for  the 
law  of  the  stellar  world.  A  sense  of  order  is 
everywhere  felt  in  the  Cosmos  and  drives  to  some 
organic  expression  of  its  phenomena,  though  this  be 
but  tentative. 

In  what  way  can  we  put  together  the  total  Sys- 
temic Cosmos  as  we  have  seen  it  unfolding?  Evi- 
dently it  embraces  much  diversity,  and  seems  on 
the  surface  to  be  recalcitrant  to  any  order.  The 
so-called  new  astronomy  with  its  dominant  phys- 
ical turn  appears  in  a  somewhat  reactionary  mood 
against  the  })revious  mathematical  astronomy, 
which  was  itself  the  child  of  an  even  greater 
reaction. 

There  are  certain  general  outlooks  which  we 
may  take  in  advance  upon  this  subject.  First  of 
all  we  must  sooner  or  later  seek  to  bring  the  phys- 
ical universe  as  a  whole  under  our  ken  and  try  to 
find  some  hnes  of  order  running  through  it  in  its 
entirety.  But  this  whole  must  be  divided,  {par- 
ticularized, made  visible  in  all  its  separation — 
which  fact  we  behold  in  the  stars  of  the  cosmical 


288  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

totality.  But  we  are  not  to  be  left  in  such  a 
stellar  distraction;  the  single  star  is  to  have  its 
own  order  or  system,  which  in  its  way  reflects  and 
indeed  realizes  the  whole  Cosmos  in  which  and  by 
which  the  star  was  evolved. 

Putting  these  items  down  in  a  more  formal 
statement,  we  have  (I)  The  Systemic  Cosmos  in  its 
immediate  totality,  which  we  shall  name  specially 
the  Pancosmos;  (II)  The  Systemic  Cosmos  in  its 
visible,  truly  luminous,  yea  self-luminous  separa- 
tion— the  Stars;  (III)  The  Systemic  Cosmos  in 
its  organized  individual,  which  is  the  basic  unit  of 
it  as  system,  and  from  which  it  has  to  start  in 
order  to  make  the  Whole  (or  the  Pancosmos)  into 
a  system— the  Sun.  Thus  we  may  behold  the  last 
stage  returning  to  the  first  through  the  second — 
each  star  being  supposedly  a  sun  with  its  system. 

The  human  mind  cannot  and  must  not  repose 
in  a  scattered  presentation  of  facts;  it  should  and 
will  seek  ultimately  its  own  deepest  process  in 
Nature,  which  in  that  way  only  can  become  trans- 
parent to  thought  and  so  a  science.  Still  it  is  not 
said  that  the  above  process  as  formulated  is  final 
and  cannot  be  improved;  subject  to  evolution  is 
this  ordering  of  facts,  as  is  everything  else. 

I. 

The   Pancosmos. 

In  the  Systemic  Cosmos  we  are  forced  to  reach 
back  to  its  beginning,  which  is  the  cosmical  All, 

19 


THE  PANCOSMOS.  289 

or  what  we  have  here  sought  to  emphasize  by 
naming  it  the  Pancosmos.  We  must  in  some  way 
grasp  the  whole  at  the  start  and  see  it  evolving  its 
various  stages.  To  be  sure  we  may  go  the  other 
way,  commencing  with  the  part  and  rising  to  the 
totality.  Already  the  attempt  has  been  made  to 
bring  into  the  conception  of  the  reader  the  grand 
spheres  of  the  physical  universe — the  Heliosphere; 
the  Galactosphere.  and  the  Cosmosphere — though 
this  last  one  be  as  yet  barely  suggested  in  the  far- 
off  nebulous  masses  revealed  by  the  largest  tele- 
scopes. At  present;  however,  the  process  is  differ- 
ent; we  wisli  to  see  as  far  as  possible  the  evolution 
of  the  Whole  as  cosmical,  and  this  must  be  our 
starting-point. 

The  Pancosmos  is,  accordingly,  the  physical 
universe  taken  as  immediate,  undifferenced,  as  yet 
undeveloped.  Still  in  this  stage  we  must  suppose 
that  everything  which  is  to  come  liereafter  is 
seething;  not  only  gravitation  is  present,  but  light 
has  faintly  dawned  and  shows  itself  in  the  filmy 
nebula.  Very  impalpable  is  such  a  theme,  but  we 
must  note  a  few  organic  points,  which  in  a  sense 
are  later  developments.  At  present  some  univer- 
sal lines  of  order  we  would  fain  trace  in  this  vague 
and  far-off  world,  yet  very  real. 

I.  Postulated.  If  we  start  with  the  Pancos- 
mos in  itself,  or  empty,  we  must  at  once  put  some- 
thing into  it;  we  must  determine  the  undetermined 
universe.     We  have  previously   found  Motion,  for 


290  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

instance,  to  be  an  universal  element,  or  an  ele- 
ment of  the  universe  as  physical.  Here  we  return 
to  it  and  pick  it  up  simply  as  a  postulate  without 
further  derivation.  These  postulates  are,  there- 
fore, immediate  or  so  employed  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  content  to  our  primal  conception  of  the 
Pancosmos. 

1 .  The  Elements.  The  word  here  is  intended  to 
bring  back  the  primal  forms  of  the  elemental  Cos- 
mos which  have  been  already  set  forth  quite 
fully — Motion,  Matter,  Measure.  These  we  merely 
recall  at  present,  since  there  has  been  a  return  to 
the  beginning  of  Nature.  The  Systemic  Cosmos  is 
peculiarly  the  arena  of  all  these  in  their  largest 
manifestation ;  they  arc  no  longer  abstract  or  ideal 
simply,  nor  are  they  confined  to  one  small  planet 
(as  in  the  Particularized  Cosmos) :  the  moving  Body 
is  now  to  be  measured  in  all  its  grandeur.  Motior 
is  indeed  incorporate,  but  as  a  kind  of  soul  con- 
trolling the  material  spheres.  The  Pancosmos  is 
thus  full  of  Motion,  full  of  Matter,  all  measured 
and  in  order,  which  Mathematics  is  to  ro-measure 
and  to  formulate  in  its  own  terms. 

2.  The  Radiants.  ^Mlon  we  behold  a  nebulous 
shred  in  the  most  remote  skies,  it  is  emitting  light, 
which  has  evidently  come  to  our  eye  across  the 
enormous  spatial  chasm.  Such  is  the  visible  Ra- 
diant, and  with  its  generation  is  connected  doubt- 
less heat,  and  probably  electrical  action.  These 
three  Radiants — Light,  Heat,  and  Electricity — be- 


THE  PANCOSMOS.  291 

long  to  the  Diacosmos  in  their  special  treatment; 
but  here  we  have  to  consider  Light  as  that  which 
manifests  the  Pancosmos,  or  at  least  certain  frag- 
ments of  it.  For  the  unseen  probably  remains 
more  than  the  seen  in  spite  of  the  ever-increasing 
conquests  of  powerful  telescopes.  This  radiating 
Light  which  is  borne  to  us  so  far,  has  to  traverse 
or  to  stir  sympathetically^  some  kind  of  a  medium, 
which  must  be  everywhere,  invisible  indeed,  but 
the  bearer  of  all  visibility. 

3.  The  Medium.  Is  the  Pancosmos  completely 
realized?  or  we  may  say  materialized?  The  ques- 
tion asks  after  a  common  medium,  which  in  a  way 
can  be  supposed  to  fill  the  spatial  emptiness  of  the 
physical  universe.  Science  is  inclined  to  accept  a 
universal  presence  of  matter  of  extreme  tenuity 
throughout  what  we  here  call  the  Pancosmos.  If 
Matter  be  the  sei)arated,  this  ether  is  the  first  form 
of  it,  perchance  the  protoplasmic  stuff  out  of 
which  all  diversity  of  bodies  proceeds.  Ether 
would  seem  to  be  in  itself  a  kind  of  repulsion,  as 
the  first  Matter  or  the  Separated ;  but  on  the  other 
hand  it  must  also  b(^  the  conveyer  of  attraction 
throughout  the  Pancosmos.  In  the  mechanical 
view  of  the  world  gravitation  is  supposed  to  work 
upon  the  total  ether  and  thus  to  reach  every  piece 
of  Matter  in  the  universe. 

These  three  things  or  sets  of  things  are  what 
we  postulate  for  the  Pancosmos,  in  which  they 
have   been  put,   after  being  picked  up  from  the 


292  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

outside,  for  the  purpose  of  filling  the  empty  All, 
or  of  defining  the  indefinite  "WTiole.  Postulated 
are  the  Elements  (already  given),  the  Radiants 
(hereafter  to  be  given),  and  the  Ether,  which  will 
likewise  have  a  history.  Having  gotten  some 
tools  (or  categories)  with  which  to  work,  we  may 
take  the  next  step  which  is  to  determine  the  Pan- 
cosmos  not  from  the  outside,  but  from  the  inside, 
if  this  be  possible. 

II.  Sphered.  The  attentive  reader  must  have 
already  noticed  our  tendency  to  sphere  the  uni- 
verse, to  divide  it  internally  into  a  succession  of 
spheres,  from  least  to  largest.  Such  a  tendency 
can  be  found  in  many  astronomical  works,  even  if 
unconscious;  indeed  it  lies  in  the  very  nature  of 
the  subject.  We  may  conceive  the  Pancosmos 
dividing  itself  primordially  into  the  three  spheres 
— ^those  of  the  Sun,  of  the  Galaxy,  and  of  the  Cos- 
mos— and  thus  revealing  the  first  phase  of  its 
system. 

If  we  look  up  at  night  we  seem  to  be  living  in  a 
sphere  whose  radius  is  not  known,  though  we  take 
ourselves  to  be  the  center;  or  perchance  the  earth 
on  which  we  stand  we  conceive  as  central.  Thus 
naively  do  we  sphere  our  little  world,  showing  an 
inborn  conformity  of  mind  with  the  outer  universe. 
Still  this  primal  geocentric  act  of  ours  has  to  be 
given  up,  and  we  have  to  place  ourselves  in  con- 
ception upon  the  sun,  thus  becoming  hehocentric, 
and  thinking  or  rather  re-thinking  and  re-creating 


THE  PANCOSMOS.  293 

by  thought  the  Hehosphcrc  in  its  organization  and 
evokition.  Then  we  behold  a  vast  multipUcity  of 
HeHospheres  in  the  stars,  which  also  show  to  the 
eye  a  bent  toward  a  common  sphericity  in  the 
Galaxy  or  Galactospherc.  But  this  too  seems  to 
be  revealing  a  multitude  of  forms  through  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  nebula,  and  is  evoking  a  new 
sphere,  all-embracing  yet  spatially  limited, the  Cos- 
mosphere,  which  as  yet  Hes  beyond  immediate 
vision.  Indeed  the  beginning,  the  Heliosphere,  is 
not  directly  visible  even  if  we  see  the  sun.  We 
have  to  construct  it,  or  rather  reconstruct  it  in  our 
own  mental  might,  re-thinking  the  divinely  creative 
thought  of  it,  putting  ourselves  upon  the  stand- 
point of  the  Creator,  or  we  may  say,  of  the  Pampsy- 
chosis. 

In  the  evolution  of  the  nebula  we  have  seen  its 
outcome  in  a  Solar  System  like  ours.  Now  there 
arc  many  such  Solar  Systems  scattered  through 
the  Heavens;  in  fact  every  star  is  supposed  to  be 
the  luminous  center  of  a  planetary  order.  But  we 
observe  that  the  stars  are  gathered  into  groups  or 
constellations  which,  however,  do  not  indicate  any 
inner  connection.  A  star  in  the  Pleiades  is  pos- 
sil^ly  as  far  removed  from  one  of  the  same  group 
as  is  our  sun,  which  may  appear  from  the  other 
side  to  some  distant  inhabitant  of  a  planet  as  one 
of  the  Pleiades.  Still  there  is  a  single  vast  gath- 
ering of  the  stars  in  the  firmament  which  im- 
presses  the   mind  as   possessing  a  common  char- 


294  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

acter,  as  having  some  internal  bond  of  relation- 
ship. This  is  the  striking  stellar  zone  of  the  skies 
known  as  the  Galaxy  or  Milky  Way,  of  which  our 
sun  is  a  tiny  star,  and  our  system  a  minute  part. 
Thus  the  latter  belongs  to  a  far  larger  celestial 
order,  which  is  still  visible,  though  bordering  out- 
v/ards  upon  the  invisible. 

It  will  help  our  conception  of  this  mind-stretch- 
ing theme  to  put  together  in  gradation  the  three 
stages  of  the  present  world-system,  as  they  have 
been  already  hinted.  We  must  recollect  that  the 
nebula  has  unfolded  into  this  explicit  cosmical  sys- 
tem, which,  however,  shows  these  various  forms 
when  developed,  differing  especially  in  magnitude. 
As  they  all  arc  probably  round  or  tend  that  way, 
and  are  also  rotating,  we  shall  designate  them  as 
spheres. 

1.  The  Heliosphere  may  be  conceived  to  be  any 
stage  of  a  solar  totality  from  its  primal  nebulous 
condition  to  its  fully  developed  system.  As  man 
dwells  at  present  in  a  certain  epoch  of  a  given 
Heliosphere,  it  is  that-  part  of  the  total  Cosmos 
which  he  can  best  study  and  understand.  It  is  in- 
deed the  systemic  type  of  the  cosmical  universe, 
through  which  chiefly  we  have  to  reach  out  to  tlic 
remotest  stars.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the 
Heliosphere  in  its  primordial  evolution  as  nebula 
breaks  away  from  a  larger  mass  of  which  an  ex- 
ample may  possibly  be  seen  in  that  vast  Nebula 
of   Canes   ^^enatici.      This    seems   in   its   present 


THE  PANCOSMOS.  295 

state  to  be  whirling  off  Helios pheres,  which  will  in 
time  evolve  Solar  Systems  like  our  own. 

2.  The  Gal  ados  phere  we  may  call  analogously 
the  round  of  the  Galaxy  or  Milky  Way,  which  is 
the  stellar  girdle  making  the  circuit  of  the  whole 
sky,  though  we  see  only  the  half  of  it  above  the 
horizon.  In  this  girdle  the  stars  are  largely  gath- 
ered, in  striking  contrast  with  the  celestial  regions 
lying  outside  of  it.  Often  it  appears  to  contain 
neljuUr,  but  these  are  usually  resolvable  into  indi- 
vidual luminous  points  by  a  good  telescope.  The 
true  nebuUc  mostly  lie  outside  of  the  Galactic 
belt — a  fact  which  may  imply  two  different 
stages  of  cosmical  evolution  in  two  different  por- 
tions of  the  Heavens.  The  Galactosphere  holds 
chiefly  the  developed  systems  with  their  ouns, 
each  of  which  announces  itself  by  its  Hght.  Our 
own  sun  with  its  system  is  a  member  of  the  untold 
myriads  of  the  Galactosphere  whose  stars  revealed 
by  the  best  instruments  have  been  computed  at 
a  hundred  millions.  Sir  William  Herschel  once 
counted  in  a  small  area  of  it  covered  by  his  tel- 
escoi)o  331,000  stars. 

Strictly  the  Galactosphere  must  have  its  poles 
(known  as  the  Galactic  poles) .  The  Galaxy  proper 
is  its  equatorial  belt,  upon  which  so  many  constel- 
lations appear  massed  in  a  vast  celestial  circle. 
What  has  brought  them  together?  We  naturally 
think  of  motion,  indeed  a  whirling  motion,  which 
like   that  of  the   earth  draws   its  material  toward 


296  COSMOS  AXD  DIACOSMOS. 

the  equator  away  from  the  poles.  This  seems  to 
have  been  what  suggested  Herschel's  famous  com- 
parison of  the  Milky  Way  to  a  grindstone,  whose 
diameter  according  to  him  is  about  five  times  its 
width.  Such  a  view  has  its  difficulties  unques- 
tionably, but  the  general  conception  of  the  Galac- 
tosphere  as  a  kind  of  system  of  multitudinous 
solar  systems,  doubtless  millions  of  them,  cannot 
be  dispensed  with  in  co-ordinating  the  Systemic 
Cosmos. 

3.  To  the  idea  of  the  Cosmosphere,  though  very 
faint  and  indefinite,  we  have  to  advance  out  of  the 
Galactosphere,  whose  general  lines  are  in  a  meas- 
ure visible.  Still  they  run  out  beyond  and  beyond 
till  we  begin  to  think  of  a  multipHcity  of  not  merely 
Solar  but  of  Galactic  systems.  Already  the  large 
nebulae  have  suggested  that  in  them  was  forming 
something  far  greater  than  the  greatest  Heliosphere, 
perchance  a  new  Galactosphere.  The  recent  rev- 
elation of  starry  depths  has  compelled  the  thought 
of  not  only  other  suns  but  of  other  Galaxies.  Av- 
erage eyesight  can  see  six  stars  in  the  group  of 
the  Pleiads;  better  vision  can  detect  the  seventh, 
and  still  better  the  eighth;  the  supreme  ocular 
test  is  said  to  be  a  glimpse  of  the  thirteenth  Pleiad. 
No  wonder  there  is  the  legend  of  the  lost  Pleiad; 
several  are  lost  or  found  according  to  the  seer.  But 
the  best  vision  is  that  of  the  photographic  plate 
which  brings  out  more  than  2,000  members  of  this 
group,  according  to  a  picture   of  it   taken  at  the 


THE  PAN  COSMOS.  297 

Paris, Observatory.  Such  a  fact  suggests  another 
group  of  Pleiads  far  beyond  our  visible  group,  in 
another  Galactosphere.  or  perchance  many  such 
groups,  each  in  its  own  Galactic  system. 

So  we  cannot  permanently  halt  in  our  Galacto- 
sphere with  its  millions  of  Heliospheres,  and  among 
them  our  own;  we  have  to  attain  the  one  Cosmo- 
sphere  embracing  all  the  possible  Galactospheres 
with  their  HeHosphercs.  To  such  a  conception  of 
the  physical  universe  (or  the  Pancosmos)  we  have 
to  reach  out,  however  vast  and  elusive.  But  the 
question  rises,  Is  it,  too,  in  motion,  revolving  like- 
wise on  its  axis?  And  is  that  the  original  univer- 
sal Motion  of  the  Universe  itself,  creative  of  all 
other  forms  of  Motion,  rectilineal  as  well  as  curvi- 
lineal?  We  have  to  conceive,  then,  the  Primal 
Motion  to  be  spherical ;  yea  cosmospherical,  that 
of  the  physical  All  itself.  From  this  universe  of 
Motion  (really  the  moving  Universe)  all  finite  par- 
ticular movements  are  thrown  off,  or  we  may  say 
generated.  The  autumn  leaf  whirling  from  a  tree 
participates  in  the  all-moving  All  of  which  it  is  a 
fleeting  manifestation.  In  the  fall  of  the  apple 
Newton  saw  the  universal  gravitation  of  Matter  to 
Matter,  but  did  he  also  see  universal  Motion?  To 
him  seemingly  Matter,  being  impelled  by  the  force 
of  attraction,  picks  up  its  needful  Motion,  as  it 
were  from  the  outside;  but  we  have  to  ask, 
^^^lcnce  comes  this  Motion  which  appears  to  be 
lying   around   everywhere   through    the    celestial 


298  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

spaces?  Or  we  may  put  the  question  in  this  way: 
Which  is  prior,  Matter  or  Motion?  The  answer 
carries  us  back  again  to  the  starting-point  of  the 
elemental  Cosmos,  where  we  saw  Motion  the  first- 
born of  Nature. 

But  if  the  total  physical  Universe  turns  on  itself 
(as  the  word  Universe  might  seem  to  imply)  it 
must  be  finite  as  distinct  from  the  All-Ego,  though 
taken  in  itself  as  spatial  it  is  boundless.  The  Cos- 
mosphere  as  derived  is,  accordingly,  limited  against 
its  source,  the  universal  Self  whence  it  sprang  and 
separated,  receiving  therefrom  its  separative  char- 
acter. Hence  comes  that  deep  pervasive  contra- 
diction of  Nature  which  we  have  already  noted 
and  called  its  dialectic.  This  is  indicated  in  the. 
statement  that  it  is  in  one  way  boundless,  in  the 
other  way  bounded — spatially  infinite,  genetically 
finite.  The  Cosmosphere  is  conceived  to  be  in  the 
spatial  Pancosmos  which  is  still  beyond  it,  and 
hence  brings  up  again  the  dualism  inherent  in  the 
physical  universe,  that  between  the  finite  and  in- 
finite, between  the  sphered  and  the  unsphered. 
between  the  self-returning  and  the  onward-going 
— the  dualism  which  wc  have  already  come  upon 
and  observed  under  a  variety  of  forms.  Nature 
is  twofold  and  cannot  help  herself;  she  has  the  re- 
turn, the  rotation,  which  is  limited,  yet  is  always 
sweeping  out  of  it  into  the  unhmited. 

Now  this  break-up  of  the  ever-repeating  round 
means  evolution,  means  the  creation  of  new  forms. 


THE  PANCOSMOS.  299 

Each  part  evolves  of  itself,  or  we  iiiay  say  it 
revolves  in  its  own  right  like  the  body  from  which 
it  sprang.  This  fact  we  shall  look  at  once  more 
in  its  present  connection. 

III.  Evolved.  We  have  already  given  (see  pp. 
251-61)  a  general  outHne  of  the  evolution  of  the 
stellar  and  planetary  worlds,  as  it  has  been  pre- 
sented in  recent  science.  At  this  point  we  may 
again  call  up  briefly  the  aforesaid  evolution,  put- 
ting it  into  its  place  in  the  Pancosmos,  which  is 
now^  to  be  seen  in  its  unfolding.  The  three  spheres 
just  described  in  their  separation  have  to  evolve; 
indeed  we  may  add  that  they  have  to  revolve,  in 
order  to  evolve;  the  cycle  revolving  at  a  certain 
speed  leaps  out  of  its  own  skin  as  it  were,  and  be- 
comes another  which  also  revolves.  We  may  sum- 
marize the  essentials  previously  given : 

1.  The  first  nebula.  As  the  visible  starting 
point  may  be  taken  an  exceedingly  tenuous,  but 
self-luminous  i)iece  of  matter  which  doubtless  ro- 
tates and  flattens  gradujjly  through  its  rotation. 
There  are  evidently  various  subordinate  phases  of 
this  first  stage  of  a  nebula,  but  the  manj^  thousands 
of  nebulous  masses  (i)robably  extending  to  millions) 
have  yet  to  be  organized.  Still  we  may  note  the 
second  pivotal  fact  concerning  them. 

2.  The  Spiral.  Nebuhr  in  the  course  of  their 
development,  range  around  a  center  like  the  whorls 
of  an  ammonite,  with  lines  of  cleavage  across  these 
whorls,  iiiflicating  the  future  planets  and  perchance 


300  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS, 

satellites.  The  center  is  the  mass  of  the  coming 
sun,  though  this  too  may  break  in  twain.  There 
is  little  doubt  that  the  rotation  also  divides;  the 
inner  whorl  gets  to  moving  faster  than  the  outer, 
which  motion  precipitates  the  break,  and  throws 
off  the  first  planet  of  the  system,  to  be  followed  by 
others.  This  stage  is  one  of  great  agitation  and 
division;  the  spiral  is  what  tears  the  nebula  to 
pieces,  scattering  its  parts  at  a  distance  from  the 
main  center,  yet  holding  them  still  in  the  bounds 
of  a  system  by  gravitation. 

3.  The  System.  This  reveals,  accordingly,  a 
unity  in  spite  of,  or  rather  through,  its  separated 
bodies,  each  of  which  revolves  about  a  central  sun, 
and  at  the  same  time  turns  on  its  own  axis.  We 
have  already  seen  how  a  ball  thrown  off  from  a 
whirling  sling  has  a  spinning  movement  as  it  flies 
through  the  air.  When  the  planet  is  separating 
from  the  spiral,  the  outer  side  as  farthest  from  the 
center  must  be  going  faster  than  the  inner;  hence 
it  will  tumble  over  an^  around  itself  when  free. 
Its  axial  motion  is,  therefore,  an  indication  and  a 
conseciuence  of  its  liberation,  showing  its  new  dis- 
tinct individuality,  which  of  course,  it  could  not 
possess  while  held  fast  to  the  original  body. 

So  the  system  unfolds  out  of  the  nebulous  spiral 
which  shows  a  genetic  energy  in  producing  separate 
cosmical  individuals.  Yet  their  original  rogatory 
motion  around  the  center  is  preserved,  but  it  now 
becomes  axial.     That  is,  it  has  been  appropriated 


THE  PANCOSMOS.  301 

and  internalized  by  the  new-born  planet  or  the 
moon-,  which  in  this  way  has  received  from  the 
whole  (as  revolving  nebula)  its  characteristic  mo- 
tion, namely  its  revolution  on  its  axis.  We  see 
that  in  this  most  external  manifestation  of  Nature 
the  part  of  the  given  totality  must  have  the  process 
of  that  totality  in  order  to  be  such  a  jjart.  The 
thin  nebula,  the  slightest  visible  matter  that  moves, 
gives  its  own  essential  motion  (the  rotatory)  to 
the  inirtic-le  which  s;';);irates  from  it,  endowing  the 
same  with  its  fundamental  rotation.  So  the  orig- 
inal spiral  begets  children — suns,  planets  and  satel- 
lites— all  of  them  individualized  with  its  primeval 
motion,  which  becomes  theirs  through  a  sort  of 
parental  impartation.  At  this  view  we  penetrate 
to  the  basic  principle  of  cosmical  organization,  to 
the  primordial  visible  union  of  Motion  and  Matter, 
the  first-born  of  the  Cosmos,  with  which  we  started. 
In  other  words,  the  germinal  process  of  the  total 
Cosmos  has  now  unfolded  and  become  explicit  in 
a  system,  and  hence  we  call  it  the  Systemic  Cosmos 
or  the  Cosmos  systemized,  which  has  gone  back 
and  shown  us  the  ideal  elemental  Cosmos  realized 
in  the  primal  moving  Matter,  and  therein  appear- 
ing for  the  first  time  to  the  senses  of  man. 

Now  this  systemic  motion  of  worlds,  starting 
doubtless  with  the  first  physical  All,  and  extending 
to  the  separate  individualized  parts  of  the  same  as 
systems,  has  its  deep  correspondence  to  the  inner 
world,  that  of  th(^  Ego.     This  also  shows  each  part, 


302  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

or  better,  each  activity  of  itself  to  be  endowed  with 
its  own  total  process.  The  separate  faculty  (as  it  is 
often  called)  has  the  same  essential  motion  which 
characterizes  the  entire  Ego.  Each  has  the  psychi- 
cal movement  as  its  essence,  which  we  have  named 
the  Psychosis,  and  which  is  the  connecting  link  of 
all  particulars  with  all  universals,  or  the  very  pro- 
cess of  the  universe  revealing  itself  in  each  part  of 
itself.  We  have  often  heard  of  the  Microcosm,  or 
the  little  inner  world  of  the  self  and  its  correspon- 
dance  to  the  Macrocosm,  or  the  great  outer  world, 
the  physical  totality.  The  node  in  which  the 
twain  are  conjoined  through  and  through  with  all 
their  divisions,  is  that  psychical  process,  the  Psy- 
chosis, whose  reality  in  the  vast  spatial  externality 
of  Nature,  is  the  Systemic  Cosmos. 

We  may  repeat,  for  the  fact  is  pivotal,  that  the 
primal  generative  nebula  is  the  potential  un- 
cUfferentiated  mass  of  revolving  Matter,  big  with 
worlds;  then  comes  its  stage  of  parturition,  or  its 
separation,  not  only  into  Bodies  but  also  into  Mo- 
tions, the  axial  and  the  orbital — this  being  the 
very  act  of  the  birth  of  worlds ;  finally  these  gener- 
ated Bodies  in  their  own  individual  revolution  also 
revolve  about  their  central  Body  (the  Sun)  which 
has  its  own  axial  revolution,  and  likewise  an  or- 
bital movement  which  connects  it  with  another 
far  greater  system,  indeed  connects  it  with  all  cos- 
mical  systems,  or  with  just  the  cosmical  system  of 
the  All. 


THE  STARS.  303 

If  we  look  back  at  what  we  here  have  named  the 
Panco'smos,  we  observe  that  the  physical  universe 
is  grasped  in  its  most  immediate  phase,  as  it  is  in 
idea  before  it  has  fully  unfolded  into  reality, 
though  in  the  nebula  it  be  on  the  way.  But  now 
we  are  to  be  introduced  into  the  presence  of  the 
Pancosmos  ])articularized,  shaped  out  of  its  ideal  or 
nebulous  universality  into  single  limited  forms, 
which  manifest  themselves  in  their  own  sheen. 
The  stars  now  rise  on  this  book  and  (we  hope)  on 
our  reader's  mind. 

II. 

Tht<]  Stars. 

It  is  something  of  a  problem  to  find  the  basic  di- 
vision of  the  Pancosmos,  inasmuch  as  it  can  be 
split  up  in  many  ways.  But  the  most  striking  ex- 
ample of  the  separation  of  the  physical  universe  we 
behold  when  we  look  at  the  Heavens  in  the  night. 
The  xA-ll  of  Nature  is  there  cut  to  pieces,  scattered 
through  the  spaces  and  is  illuminating  its  own  vast 
primal  diversity.  Day  is  a  kind  of  unifier  with 
its  common  light;  the  sun  conjoins  and  as  it  were 
associates  the  multiplicity  of  things  seen,  wiping 
out  for  a  time  the  separated  stellar  worlds  above. 
Night  on  the  contrary  may  be  called'the  separator, 
darkness  gives  the  foreground  and  also  the  back- 
ground of  the  grand  astral  manifestation  of  the 
Cosmos.  Starlight  may  be  taken  as  the  opposite, 
separative  counterpart  to  the  unity  of  sunlight. 


304  COSMOS  AXD  DIACOSMOS 

Blank  space  shoots  into  its  points  which  become 
self-kiminous,  and  draw  on  the  skies  many  geo- 
metric figures.  From  time  immemorial  the  stars 
have  suggested  geometry  which  is  properly  the  first 
mathematical  science.  Imagination  has  filled 
these  skeleton  lines  with  human  forms  and  thus 
produced  the  constellations ;  the  plastic  sense  of  the 
Greeks  saw  in  them  the  departed  Gods  and  Heroes 
who  were  thus  translated  into  their  new  home  higher 
than  Olympus  where  they  are  still  found  in  name. 

We  may  see,  therefore,  the  Pancosmos  partic- 
ularizing itself  in  the  stars  millionfold,  which  are 
thus  its  first  true  reality.  It  now  becomes  visible, 
being  hitherto  rather  a  thought  or  idea,  though  ab- 
solutely necessary.  This  is,  accordingly,  a  signifi- 
cant step  in  the  total  cosmical  system,  that  of  astro- 
genesis.  We  have  already  considered  stellar  evo- 
lution, as  it  has  passed  through  the  various  stages 
of  the  nebula.  And  yet  that  very  first  original 
nebula  out  of  which  the  primordial  star  was 
evolved — whence?  We  have  to  go  back  and  con- 
ceive the  creative  act  producing  Matter  or  Nature, 
even  if  we  cannot  verify  it  directly  by  experiment. 
That  may  be  outside  the  realm  of  Natural  Science, 
but  it  is  not  outside  the  realm  of  universal  Science. 
We  have  also  -considered  the  cycle  of  the  star  as 
unfolded  by  Lockyer  and  others — its  rise,  bloom, 
decay  and  death,  till  its  regeneration.  But  this 
seems  a  closed  cycle,  which  had  somehow  to  be- 
come— how,  whence  did  it  start?    The  question 


THE  STARS.  305 

again  throws  us  back  to  the  creative  idea  which 
underiies  the  whole  physical  universe  as  derived. 
But  wc  need  not  repeat  here  our  view  of  its  origin 
and  evolution  from  what  we  call  the  Pampsychosis. 
Nature,  when  interrogated  persistently  and  pro- 
foundly, will  always  whisper  to  us  that  she  is  not 
finally  self-organized,  and  will  conduct  us  back  to 
her  source.  She  is  but  a  stage,  a  part  of  the  total 
process  of  the  All-Self,  to  which  she  will  always  in 
her  last  text  refer  the  desperate  seeker. 

The  stars,  then,  we  contemplate  as  the  mighty 
visible  manifestation  of  separated  Nature,  which 
is  itself  the  primordial  separation  of  the  Universe 
as  a  whole.  Such  is  the  emotion  which  they  excite, 
for  they  necessarily  carry  the  human  spirit  to  the 
unseparated  antecedent  stage  out  of  which  they 
■sprang.  AYhat  produces  such  separation?  Wc 
can  apply  our  usual  categories — cause,  force,  en- 
ergy, law;  but  all  of  these  likewise  point  back  to 
something  more  fundamental,  to  that  Totality 
which  separates  itself  and  therein  is  and  remains 
itself.  A  natural  symbolism  the  stars  have  always 
called  up  even  in  the  savage  mind,  suggesting  the 
unseen  by  the  seen,  and  weaving  a  bright  strand  of 
poetry  through  the  folk-lore  of  peoples. 

The  stellar  world,  accordingly,  we  conceive  as 
the  ])rimal  separation  of  the  Pancosmos  into  its 
ultimate  visible  units,  even  if  these  may  be  still 
further  separated  and  analyzed  by  means  of  in- 
struments.    We  might  say  that  the  universe  is 

20 


306  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

primarily  atomized  in  the  stars,  between  which 
lies  the  unstarred  void.  Or  taking  Space  as  the 
first  cosmical  element,  we  see  the  stars  as  points  in 
it,  yet  belonging  to  it;  we  see  Space  again  becoming 
punctate  and  showing  it  at  the  same  time.  In  this 
view  the  starry  depths  are  the  great  spatial  mani- 
festation; ideal  Space  they  make  real  both  as  ex- 
tension to  the  infinitely  large  and  intension  to  the 
infinitely  small.  Moreover,  the  stars  all  differ 
among  themselves,  each  has  not  only  its  own  lo- 
cality, but  its  own  individuality.  They  are  diverse 
in  size,  which  fact  the  astronomers  have  signified 
in  the  stellar  magnitudes.  Astral  colors  have 
shown  great  variety  and  beauty,  but  they  have 
also  become  significant  of  stages  of  cosmical  evo- 
lution (see  preceding  p.  275). 

In  this  brief  survey  of  the  stars,  we  shall  con- 
sider, first,  their  Distribution,  or  their  external 
order  in  the  skies ;  secondly,  their  Diversity,  or  their 
outer  and  inner  differences  from  one  another; 
thirdly,  their  Measurements,  or  the  attempts  to  find 
their  distances  and  sizes. 

I.  Stellar  Distribution.  The  very  unequal 
distribution  of  the  stars  over  the  Heavens  has 
always  provoked  some  attempt  to  find  the  order 
or  ground  of  such  distribution.  Some  regions 
are  cjuite  starless,  other  localities  seem  afflicted 
with  a  starry  plethora.  What  shall  we  say  to 
such  a  conglomeration  as  that  seen  in  Hercules 
(13  Messier)?     It  can  hardly  be  called  a  cluster, 


THE  STARS.  307 

but  a  pile  of  stars  somehow  heaped  up  there 
in  space.  On  the  other  hand  there  are  portions 
of  the  sky,  particularly  outside  of  the  Milky  Way, 
which  are  star-poor.  Is  there  any  principle  to  be 
found  in  this  very  unequal  stellar  distribution? 
Usually  some  form  of  rotation  is  what  causes  a 
flight  and  a  gathering  of  the  particles  of  the  body 
rotated.  Is  there  any  such  vast  rotation  in  the 
Heavens,  for  instance  that  of  the  Galactosphere? 
If  there  is,  it  remains  a  future  task  of  astronomy  to 
identify  it  and  to  trace  its  effects. 

1.  Rich  and  Poor  Regions.  In  general  we  may , 
from  the  present  point  of  view,  take  as  the  first  dis- 
tinction of  the  celestial  vault  that  into  star-rich  and 
star-poor.  Of  course  there  is  an  unsettled  prob- 
lem here  also :  are  there  still  millions  of  stars  which 
are  now  invisible,  but  which  are  to  become  visible 
through  new  appliances  or  more  powerful  tele- 
scopes? It  is  estimated  that  the  naked  eye,  if 
possessed  of  unusually  excellent  vision,  can  see 
8000  stars;  ordinary  sight,  however,  can  discern 
about  GOOO.  A  good  opera-glass  will  double  the 
number,  from  which  there  is  an  ascending  increase 
till  the  very  best  telescope  is  said  to  possess  the 
power  of  revealing  one  hundred  millions  of  stars 
which  embrace  sixteen  stellar  magnitudes.  That 
is,  for  one  star  seen  by  common  eyesight,  there  are 
more  than  sixteen  thousand  unseen,  but  discernible 
through  a  lens.  Still  further  the  sensitive  photo- 
graphic plate  catches  and  holds  fast  starry  light- 


308  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

points  which  the  eye  is  unable  to  receive  directly 
through  the  telescope. 

The  above  estimates  relate  to  the  total  Heaven, 
of  which  hardly  a  half  is  visible  at  one  time  from 
any  point  on  the  earth.  So  an  average  pair  of  eyes 
will  behold  on  a  clear  night  three  to  four  thousand 
stars.  They  are  not  therefore,  innumerable;  you 
may  easily  know  more  people  in  your  town  than 
you  can  see  stars  in  the  sky  above.  The  old  shep- 
herds, watching  in  the  night,  easily  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  all  these  starry  denizens,  and  began 
astronomy. 

There  has  been  much  speculation  concerning  the 
present  stellar  arrangement  which  we  witness  above 
us  in  the  Heavens.  What  is  the  principle  of  the 
construction  of  the  visible  universe  with  its  pecul- 
iar distribution  of  the  stars?  It  probably  turns  on 
some  primordial  motion  not  yet  detected  in  the 
very  short  time  during  which  it  has  been  scientifi- 
cally observed.  And  this  motion  may  be  deter- 
mined from  sources  not  as  yet  visible. 

2.  Seen  and  Unseen.  Very  deep  is  the  division 
between  the  Void  and  the  Full;  even  deeper  and 
more  important  is  the  division  in  the  stellar  world 
between  its  seen  and  unseen  portions.  We  nat- 
urally consider  a  star  or  indeed  any  heavenly  body 
as  luminous;  it  has  to  appear  before  much  can  be 
said  about  it.  Light  is  the  herald  of  the  skies,  but 
this  fair  babbler  may  not  always  be  present  to 
speak  through  the  heavenly  spaces.     Still  a  sudden 


THE  STARS.  309 

blaze  may  start  in  the  far-off  regions  where  pre- 
viously was  the  unoccupied  void  as  far  as  vision 
told  us.  What  happened?  Certainly  an  unseen 
body  has  become  all  at  once  visible,  and  we  begin  to 
reflect  upon  the  lightless,  seemingly  defunct  worlds 
which  are  floating  everywhere  through  the  Pancos- 
mos.  Moreover,  the  mind  tries  to  fathom  their 
purpose,  their  place  in  the  cosmical  order.  Al- 
ready we  have  given  Mr.  Lockyer's  remarkable 
theory  of  the  life,  death,  and  resurrection  of  the 
star-worlds — the  most  satisfactory  view  yet  pro- 
mulgated in  our  opinion,  even  if  not  fully  verified. 
Quite  a  number  of  new  stars  are  recorded,  as  Nova 
Aurigse,  Nova  Persei,  etc.  They  are  set  down  as 
twenty-five  by  Flammarion;  other  authorities  say 
more,  still  others  less. 

The  quantity  of  unlit  matter  in  the  universe 
cannot  of  course  be  told,  but  it  is  doubtless  greater 
than  what  is  lit  and  luminous.  The  unseen  thus 
is  declared  to  be  more  in  amount  than  the  seen. 
Certain  perturbations  have  been  supposed  to  come 
from  the  vast  mass  or  perchance  the  dead  carcass 
of  a  solar  system  or  of  an  extinct  Galaxy.  Gravi- 
tation which  works  in  the  dark  as  well  as  in  the 
light,  may  be  yet  made  to  tell  the  story  of  this  non- 
luminous  Cosmos.  As  our  sun  with  its  planets 
seems  to  be  moving  about  some  center  which  does 
not  shine,  the  question  rises,  What  is  that  center? 
If  the  whole  Galactosphere  has  not  only  a  rotary 
but  also  an  orbital  movement,  we  have  to  ask 


310  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

after  what  compels  it  thus  to  gravitate.  In  the 
limits  of  our  human  experience  and  reason  the 
mind  has  to  posit  a  controlling  mass  seemingly 
not  illuminated,  from  which  springs  the  axial  and 
the  orbital  revolutions  of  the  Milky  Way.  In  any 
case  the  unseen  material  bodies  of  the  Pancosmos 
must  be  greater  than  the  seen, 

3.  Possibilities.  In  this  connection  it  may  be 
permitted  to  mention  that  science  has  hardly  been 
able  to  tackle  the  foregoing  unseen  portion  of  the 
physical  universe,  which  appears  to  be  of  such 
enormous  proportions  and  to  possess  so  much  se- 
cret power  over  the  seen  order.  The  chief  means 
of  communication.  Light,  being  cut  off,  there  re- 
mains that  eyeless  worker,  Gravitation,  whose  ef- 
fects we  may  well  discern  in  a  number  of  colossal 
phenomena.  But  there  is  a  third  medium,  not  yet 
fully  caught  and  harnessed,  whose  possibilities  do 
indeed  seem  the  greatest.  This  is  ether,  as  yet 
quite  impalpable  and  invisible,  which,  however,  is 
employed  as  a  medium  by  Light,  and  possibly  by 
Gravitation  also.  But  the  great  coming  scientific 
problem  is  to  catch  this  ether  in  its  own  activity 
and  to  set  it  to  work.  Electricity  would  seem  to 
have  a  certain  elemental  power  over  it,  as  we  see  in 
the  phenomena  of  wireless  telegraphy.  Can  this 
medium  in  itself  ever  be  gotten  hold  of  perchance 
by  some  mechanical  contrivance,  and  tamed  from 
its  present  wild  state,  in  which  it  roams  with  free- 
dom the  cosmical  spaces?     If  so,  then  we  may  be 


THE  STARS  311 

able  to  find  out  somewhat  about  the  other  side, 
the  uasunnetl  and  the  unseen  side  of  the  Pan- 
cosmos. 

SteUar  Distribution,  accordingly,  runs  against 
limits  on  all  sides;  the  seen  location  of  the  stars 
puzzles  us,  but  the  greater  part  of  them  we  cannot 
even  locate  in  their  unseen  world.  So  we  may 
study  them  individually  a  little,  as  they  appear. 

II.  Stellar  Diversity.  The  more  the  stars 
are  studied,  the  more  they  are  found  to  differ  among 
themselves.  Their  separation  is  not  merely  ex- 
ternal, they  are  not  merely  so  many  bits  of  bright 
matter  strewn  over  the  heavenly  acres,  like  grains 
over  a  wheat  field.  To  be  sure,  they  all  shine,  but 
their  sheen  is  of  many  kinds,  their  luminosity  is 
diverse.  It  is  obvious  at  the  first  glance  that  they 
are  of  different  sizes,  not  so  obvious  is  it  that  they 
have  different  qualities  or  individual  traits. 

Here  is  an  enormous  outlook  upon  the  coming 
astronomy.  Who  can  not  only  map  and  count 
the  stars,  and  calculate  their  distances,  but  who 
can  also  portray  their  characters?  The  world- 
drama  of  Shakespeare  with  its  Galaxy  of  humanity 
is  indeed  great;  what  then  about  a  drama  of  worlds 
with  its  Galaxy  of  stellar  characters  acting  on  the 
stage  of  the  sky,  of  which  dramatic  action  we  pos- 
sibly catch  a  glimpse  in  that  external  galactic 
round  yonder?  All  such  knowledge  is  certainly 
far  away  in  the  future ;  at  present  we  can  only  take 
note  of  a  few  outer  differences. 


312  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS.     ' 

1.  Magnitude.  Stars  of  sixteen  different  magni- 
tudes we  find  set  down  in  the  books,  also  the  photo- 
metric calculations  upon  which  these  magnitudes 
are  based.  The  rule  runs:  if  one  star  is  two  and  a 
half  times  brighter  than  another,  the  first  is  a  magni- 
tude higher  than  the  second.  However,  there  is 
one  supremely  brightest  star  in  the  Heavens, 
Sirius,  (the  Dog  Star),  which  is  not  only  the  first 
star  of  the  first  magnitude  but  equals  in  luminosity, 
six  average  stars  of  the  first  magnitude  (such  as 
Aldebaran).  Next  to  Sirius  is  Canopus,  which  is 
followed  by  Alpha  of  the  Centaur,  our  nearest  star ; 
Arcturus  is  fourth  in  the  order.  Nineteen  stars  are 
tabulated  as  belonging  to  the  first  magnitude  in  a 
decreasing  line  of  brightness,  all  being  different  in 
this  respect.  At  the  sixth  magnitude  the  star  be- 
gins to  vanish  out  of  human  vision  and  at  the  six- 
teenth magnitude  it  begins  to  vanish  out  of  the 
present  telescopic  range. 

The  magnitudes  of  the  stars  are  not  absolute,  but 
relative  to  us.  A  very  large  star  will  appear  very 
small  at  a  very  great  distance.  Still  the  magni- 
tudes have  in  them  also  the  suggestion  of  size.  Arc- 
turus and  Alpha  of  the  Centaur  are  about  of  the 
same  brightness,  but  the  former  is  supposed  to  be 
eight  times  farther  from  the  earth  than  the  latter 
(204  billions  of  miles  to  25  billions).  According 
to  the  law  of  light  we  are  forced  to  conclude  that 
Arcturus  in  itself  is  a  much  larger  star  than  Alpha 
of  the  Centaur. 


THE  STARS  313 

2.  The  Divided  Star.  The  striking  fact  of  the 
inner  separation  of  the  star  into  two  or  more  parts 
first  became  known  through  the  telescope.  But 
stellar  division  does  not  stop  with  one  cut.  There 
arc  triple  and  quadruple  stars.  The  relation  of 
these  constituents  to  one  another  is  by  no  means 
ascertained.  Their  motions  become  very  compli- 
cated and  indeed  doubtful,  the  working  of  the  law 
of  gravitation  is  often  quite  inconceivable.  The 
most  seem  to  move  in  orbits,  some  of  whose  periods 
have  been  calculated,  others  are  declared  to  sweep 
forward  in  right  lines  under  unknown  sidereal  in- 
fluences. Of  these  divided  solar  systems  (for  such 
they  appear  to  be)  double,  triple,  multiple,  some  819 
have  been  uncovered  according  to  a  recent  count. 
That  unique  star  Sirius  is  a  double,  of  which  one 
^component  is  much  smaller  than  the  other  and  far 
less  luminous,  so  that  it  was  not  discerned  till  1862 
(by  Alvan  Clark.)  Indeed  some  suppose  it  to  be  a 
planet  or  satelHte,  but  the  difficulty  is  that  it  is 
self-luminous.  Yet  many  doubles  are  quite  equally 
divided  as  to  mass  and  intensity  of  light,  though 
the  latter  may  be  of  different  colors. 

The  double  star  must  have  its  two  parts  related 
in  motion.  Not  all  stars  which  are  seen  in  close 
proximity  make  necessarily  a  system  together.  In 
the  true  double  star  the  counterparts  usually  re- 
volve about  each  other;  but  sometimes  they  seem 
twinned  in  a  common  race  for  some  unknown  goal 
and  move  on  a  rectilineal  path  apparently.     If  the 


314  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

doubleness  be  optical  merely,  the  two  stars  have  no 
systemic  connection,  and  may  be  very  far  apart. 
Some  astronomers  make  a  great  deal  of  the  distinc- 
tion between  a  double  and  a  binary  star,  the  latter 
being  the  true  double.  In  this  sense  some  stars  are 
both  binary  and  double,  for  instance  Mizar  in  the 
tail  of  the  Great  Bear,  which  is  both  an  optical 
douljle  and  a  systemic  double. 

Of  course  our  own  star  is  single  and  very  simple 
in  its  system  comparatively;  perchance  when  we 
understand  it  well,  we  shall  be  trained  to  grasp  the 
far  more  complicated  systems  of  doubles,  trebles, 
quadruples,  etc. 

3.  Color.  There  are  130  double  suns  of  which 
each  part  has  a  separate  tint;  in  most  of  them  the 
contrast  of  color  is  pronounced.  The  light  from 
two  such  luminaries  would  be  perpetual  (it  has 
been  supposed),  there  could  be  no  night;  or  the 
difference  between  day  and  night  would  be  a  dif- 
ference of  colored  sunshine ;  say  half  a  day  blue  and 
half  a  day  red. 

The  import  of  the  different  colors  of  stars  has 
been  set  forth  already  in  considering  stellar  evolu- 
tion. It  would  seem  that  in  the  same  double  sun 
there  may  be  a  very  old,  dying  part  and  a  young 
growing  part.  Does  this  imply  that  the  star,  when 
it  begins  to  be  weak  with  age,  can  slough  off  its 
decrepit  half  for  regeneration?  There  are  bright 
stars  which  have  totally  dark  counterparts.  The 
periodic  variability  of  certain  stars  is  conjectured 


THE  STARS.  315 

to  arise  from  a  dead  companion  eclipsing  them  for 
a  while. 

Light  alone  announces  the  existence  and  the  lo- 
cality of  the  star,  and  possibly  something  of  its 
size  and  stage  of  development.  But  color  must 
reflect  inner  character.  It  might  seem  that  the 
two  fine  arts,  Sculpture  (white)  and  Painting 
(tinted)  have  their  correspondence  in  the  stars. 
Says  Flammarion :  "In  the  Southern  Cross  we  ad- 
mire with  unspeakable  wonder  a  brilliant  cluster  of 
110  stars  of  the  7th  magnitude  and  fainter,  of  which 
the  most  luminous  shine  with  all  colors — ruby-red, 
emerald-green,  sapphire-blue;  it  is  like  a  casket  of 
glittering  gems." 

So  in  this  stellar  diversity  we  consider  first  the 
magnitude  or  external  size  of  the  star,  then  its  sep- 
aration into  two  or  more  stars  (or  suns),  then  its 
color,  which  is  some  manifestation  of  its  individu- 
ality or  inner  character.  Of  course  stars  have 
other  points  of  diversity,  but  the  foregoing  seem 
the  main  ones,  though  science  has  barely  begun  the 
exploration  of  this  remote  field  of  research. 

III.  Stellar  Measurement.  The  application 
of  Mathematics  to  the  stellar  world  is  yet  in  its  in- 
fancy. To  early  man  came  the  question:  What 
is  the  distance  from  me  to  yonder  star?  The  quan- 
titative instinct  was  active,  but  found  no  realiza- 
tion till  recently.  In  1840,  as  the  record  runs,  the 
German  astronomer  Bessel  first  measured  the  dis- 
tance to  a  star  (61  Cygni).     Other  kinds  of  stellar 


316  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

measurements  are  given  in  the  books,  such  as  the 
proper  motions  of  the  stars,  the  orbits  of  double 
stars,  etc.  Especially  the  motion  of  our  own  star, 
the  sun,  has  been  reduced  to  figures.  A  few  items 
on  this  subject  must  suffice. 

1.  Parallax.  The  little  child  on  the  train  say- 
ing that  the  cars  made  the  trees  run,  gave  an  in- 
stance of  one  kind  of  parallax.  Now  the  distance 
of  a  star  is  calculated  by  first  ascertaining  its  paral- 
lax, which  is  in  general  the  observer's  displacement 
(real)  projected  into  the  displacement  of  the  object 
observed  (apparent).  The  radius  of  the  earth's 
orbit  is  taken  for  the  real  displacement  (93  millions 
of  miles)  or  one  side  of  the  triangle  whose  apex  is 
the  star.  This  star  has  as  its  parallax  the  angle  at 
which  the  radius  of  the  earth's  orbit  is  seen  from 
the  star.  With  these  data  the  distance  to  the  star 
can  be  readily  measured. 

The  great  difficulty  lies  in  determining  the  paral- 
lactic angle.  The  distances  of  hardly  more  than 
twenty  stars  are  accepted  generally  by  astronomers. 
The  curious  fact  is  that  some  of  the  brightest 
stars  have  as  yet  no  ascertainable  parallax.  To 
reach  the  nearest  (Alpha  Centauri)  light  would 
have  to  travel  four  and  a  third  years,  going  .at  its 
rate  of  180,400  miles  a  second.  To  reach  Sirius  it 
would  require  nearly  nine  years.  It  has  been  in- 
ferred that  we  are  still  seeing  the  light  which  comes 
from  stars  long  extinct.  And  on  the  other  hand 
some  remote  planet  may  be  just  now  witnessing 


THE  STARS.  317 

the  battle  of  Marathon.  All  this  of  course  rests  on 
the  supposition  that  light  moves  everywhere  at  the 
same  invariable  speed  with  which  it  comes  to  us 
from  the  sun.  That  is,  however,  an  assumption 
which  can  be  questioned,  and  doubtless  will  be  at 
some  time  questioned.  Parallax  depends  primarily 
upon  light.  Still  some  of  the  brightest  stars,  like 
Canopus  and  Rigel,  and  others  of  the  First  Magni- 
tude, show  no  perceptible  parallax.  On  the  other 
hand  some  quite  small  stars,  like  1830  Groom- 
bridge,  rather  easily  give  up  their  parallactic  secret. 
The  magnitude  of  this  star  is  set  down  at  six  and 
a  half,  thus  it  is  quite  invisible  to  average  eyesight. 
Its  parallax  is  about  the  least  (0,045)  and  its  dis- 
tance is  so  great  that  it  would  take  light  seventy- 
two  years  and  a  half  to  cross  over  from  it  to  us  (ac- 
cording to  Flammarion's  table).  This  is  also  re- 
garded as  the  swiftest  star  of  the  skies;  possibly  its 
enormous  velocity  has  some  connection  with  the 
preceding  facts.  More  about  this  unique  star 
under  another  head. 

2.  The  Unfixed  Stars.  Through  our  own  eyes 
as  well  as  through  all  Literature  (one  thinks  of 
Dante  specially)  we  have  seen  the  stars  fastened  in 
a  sphere  which  revolves.  The  truth  is,  however, 
that  the  stars  do  move,  each  in  its  own  peculiar 
way,  which  constitutes,  we  must  think,  a  mani- 
festation of  character.  They  are  thus  intlividual- 
ized, having  their  own  real  motion,  which  is  known 
as  their  proper  motion  in  the  books.     The  old  con- 


318  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

ception  of  fixed  stars  is  no  longer  tenable.  Each 
star  possesses  in  its  own  right  an  individual  move- 
nient,  and  its  own  rate  of  speed;  the  stellar  world 
is  a  world  of  continuous  change  and  variation 
among  its  individuals. 

There  is  one  set  of  stars  which  are  moving  toward 
us  (our  Solar  System);  another  set  of  them  are  re- 
ceding from  us.  Moreover,  their  rates  of  approach 
and  recession  have  been  measured.  The  bright 
Arcturus  is  reported  as  sweeping  hitherward  with 
a  velocity  of  forty-one  miles  a  second.  The  arch 
star  Sirius  is  said  to  be  fleeing  from  us  at  the  rate 
of  twenty-two  miles  a  second.  The  supposed 
twins  of  the  skies,  Castor  and  Pollux,  do  not  har- 
monize in  their  actions  toward  us;  one  is  leaving, 
the  other  coming.  Doubtless  all  stars  are  thus 
moving  in  relation  to  us,  and  also  in  relation  to 
one  another.  We  learn  that  Alpha  Cygni  is  rush- 
ing in  a  straight  line  toward  us  at  the  rate  of  forty 
miles  a  second,  and  will  reach  us  in  about  200,000 
years,  bringing  a  "new  sun,  which  may  take  the 
place  of  our  old  one  when  it  is  extinct.  Possibly 
this  is  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  our  slowly  ex- 
piring sunshine,  which  has  been  worrying  scientists 
and  others  in  recent  years.  Thus  the  sky  seems 
cut  up  everywhere  with  stellar  roads — leading 
whither? 

3.  The '  Fixed.  The  stars,  instead  of  being 
fixed,  are  just  the  unfixed,  the  ever-changing  mani- 
festation of  the  Pancosmos.    Out  of  such  separation 


THE  STARS.  319 

the  mind  seeks  to  bring  them  into  some  sort  of 
unity,  preserving  of  course  all  their  diversity  of 
movements.  In  the  preceding  vast  complex  of 
the  motions  of  a  hundred  million  suns,  is  there  any 
common  motion?  Are  they  as  a  whole  circling 
about  some  center?  Astronomers  have  generally 
held  that  there  is  such  a  center,  though  dissenting 
voices  are  heard.  Among  scientists  is  a  notable 
effort  toward  finding  this  center  of  the  sidereal  sys- 
tem as  a  whole.  To  such  precedence  no  star  can 
lay  claim;  but  some  have  imagined  an  enormous 
unseen  central  mass  which  exercises  control  over 
the  totality  through  gravitation.  But  it  is  con- 
fessed that  measurement  has  not  yet  been  able  to 
determine  any  such  object,  which  remains  a  con- 
jecture. Still  a  general  movement  of  the  stars  all 
together  has  been  designated. 

Much  more  decisively  is  our  sun  with  its  planets 
asserted  to  be  moving  about  a  center,  and  its  orbit 
in  this  vaster  revolution  has  been  calculated  (see  p. 
270) ,  though  great  doubt  still  hangs  over  the  whole 
subject.  The  sun  is  going  toward  Vega  of  the  Lyre, 
and  Yoga  is  also  coming  toward  the  sun;  the  two 
are  said  to  be  rushing  together  at  the  rate  of  forty- 
four  miles  a  second.  But  each  is  probably  moving 
in  its  own  stellar  orbit  with  its  planetary  retinue. 
To  ascertain  these  stellar  orbits,  is  reserved  for  the 
astronomy  of  the  future. 

The  star  whose  proper  motion  has  excited  the 
greatest  astonishment  among  astronomers  is  known 


320  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

as  1830  Groombridge  (number  and  name  taken 
from  a  catalogue  of  stars).  It  is  hardly  visible  to 
the  naked  eye,  but  its  velocity  has  been  measured 
and  found  to  be  greater  than  that  of  any  other  star, 
and  quite  out  of  proportion  to  the  average  stellar 
speed.  It  has  been  called  the  runaway  star,  and 
regarded  as  an  alien  to  our  whole  sidereal  system; 
some  think  that  it  never  could  have  been  evolved 
under  our  astral  conditions.  It  has  been  supposed 
to  be  simply  crossing  our  Galactosphere  into  an- 
other, perchance  like  a  traveler  in  great  haste  trying 
to  get  back  home.  The  idea  at  least  suggests  that 
we  may  have  visitors  in  our  worlds,  who  will  some 
day  be  able  to  tell  us  of  their  most  remote  and 
possibly  invisible  regions.  Also  links  of  intercon- 
nection between  other  systems  and  our  own  may 
yet  be  found,  and  made  to  tell  their  secrets.  It 
should  be  added  that  recently  a  couple  of  stars 
have  been  endowed  with  a  velocity  greater  than 
even  that  of  1830  Groombridge,  but  the  correctness 
of  their  parallaxes  has  been  doubted.  At  any  rate, 
if  the  above  theory  holds  good,  there  are  stars 
possessing  sufficient  motion  to  dash  across  the 
interstellar  boundaries,  which  seem  so  permanent 
and  impassible  for  our  Solar  System  and  those 
adjoining.  Naturally  the  question  rises,  how  is 
such  an  extraordinary  velocity  gotten  at  the  start? 
and  whence?  Possibly  some  other  visitor  will  tell 
something  more  if  he  can  be  detected. 

Here  we  must  withdraw  our  short  glance  at  the 


77//:'  SrN.  321 

distiiu'tivcly  stellar  world,  the  separated  Pancosmos 
as  we  name  it  in  the  total  sweep  of  the  Systemic 
Cosmos.  We  are  now  to  advance  out  of  this  vast 
separation,  which  cut  up  the  physical  universe  into 
what  may  be  deemed  its  primal  visible  units, 
whose  evolution  we  have  watched  in  the  nebula. 
Next  we  are  to  take  one  of  these  evolved  units  and 
to  behold  it  in  its  organic  details,  making  it  the 
standard  of  comparison  and  the  measure  of  all  thc^ 
other  stellar  units  of  the  Pancosmos.  Thus  we  get 
to  know  the  one  typical  individual  of  the  skies,  and 
through  him  specially  we  seek  to  know  the  rest. 
The  Sun  with  his  system  unfolded  as  wo  behold  it, 
becomes  in  this  way  the  measurer,  the  organize!-, 
the  systemizer  of  the  Systemic  Cosmos,  of  which  it 
is  the  final  •development.  That  is,  the  universal 
but  unordered  Pancosmus  has  unfolded  its  ordering 
individual  in  the  Solar  System,  of  which  fact  we 
may  hear  an  echo  in  the  common  statement  that 
each  star  is  a  sun  with  its  planets. 

III. 

The  Sun. 

The  work  of  Copernicus  in  transferring  the  cen- 
ter of  our  })lanetary  system  from  the  Earth  to  the 
Sun  has  been  long  regarded  as  the  supreme  deed  of 
astronomical  science.  But  its  significance  reaches 
much  farther:  it  compels  the  human  mind  to  con- 
struct anew  the  universe,  not  after  \hv  senses  but 

21 


322  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

after  thought.  P'or  through  its  training  our  spirit 
becomes  hehocentric,  being  no  longer  merely  geo- 
centric. We  must  perform  the  great  act  of  es- 
trangement from  our  immediate  Earth  and  take  our 
standpoint  in  the  Sun,  viewing  the  Cosmos  not  so 
much  physically  as  ideally,  not  so  much  by  means 
of  Hght  as  from  the  very  source  of  light.  It  unfolds 
in  us  new  eyes,  it  forces  us  to  look  with  a  second 
sight  in  order  to  see  truly  our  own  world.  Along 
with  the  Copernican  theory  arose  a  desperate  re- 
ligious encounter  about  which  much  has  been  said. 
As  science  has  certainly  won  in  that  fight  with  the 
church,  it  is  time  to  have  a  little  peace  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  so  we  shall  here  pass  it  over.  But  the 
psychologic  act  of  rising  from  this  particular  ter- 
restrial sensuous  sight  to  a  universal  mental  vision 
of  the  physical  All  cannot  be  too  highly  apprecia- 
ted. That  act  we  teach  our  children  in  the  Public 
School  to  perform,  and  thus  make  it  an  integral 
element  of  human  consciousness. 

Modern  science  has  begun  to  carry  the  idea  of 
Copernicus  far  beyond  its  original  limits.  The  Sun 
is  found  actually  to  move,  yea  to  be  revolving 
around  a  center  in  its  turn;  not  the  seeming  ter- 
restrial one,  but  the  far-off  galactic  or  even  cosmi- 
cal  one,  of  which  some  account  has  already  been 
given.  But  it  should  be  noted  that  our  immediate 
sensuous  view  of  a  revolving  Sun  bears  the  impress 
of  the  ultimate  fact  of  the  Solar  System ;  our  great 
luminary  is  whirling  through  the  skies  in  a  circle. 


THE  SUN.  323 

So  in  a  manner  through  Copernicanism  we  are 
coming  back  to  our  first  naive  look  at  the  Heavens, 
which  first  look,  however,  has  been  widened  to  a 
vision  of  the  universe. 

Accordingly  we  have  reached  the  Sun  with  its 
System  as  the  final  outcome  of  the  Systemic  Cos- 
mos, the  last  stage  thereof,  the  typical  cosmical 
individual  which  has  been  generated  as  its  final  pro- 
duct. Not  only  is  there  a  solar  system,  but  also  a 
solar  organism  of  which  science  has  recently  un- 
unfoldcd  many  a  surprising  secret.  Indeed  we  are 
just  now  getting  acquainted  with  his  majesty  the 
Sun  himself.  So  the  great  luminary  has  his  own 
corporeal  system  besides  the  planetary,  the  latter 
being  properly  his  offspring  and  constituting  his 
family. 

The  Sun  we  are  to  take,  then,  as  the  central  gen- 
etic unit,  the  unit  from  which  all  its  individual 
followers  have  sprung,  and  it  still  shows  many  signs 
of  this  its  originative  function.  Children  and  grand- 
children, planets  and  their  satellites  it  has,  and 
perhaps  more  remote  descendants;  and  it  is  still  in 
vigorous  activity.  As  to  the  life  of  the  Sun,  scien- 
tists generally  seem  to  believe  that  it  is  about  half 
sped,  though  some  say  more  than  half  and  some 
say  less.  One  thing  seems  pretty  certain :  it  is  no 
longer  productive,  that  is,  planet-begetting;  in  this 
sense  its  creative  time  appears  to  be  past.  It  looks 
as  if  the  Solar  System  as  such  is  finished,  being  at 
high  noon,  possibly  a  little  before  or  a  little  after. 


324  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

But  the  Sun's  own  System  is  still  mightily  alive,  and 
is  still  the  source  of  life  and  action  to  all  its  sup- 
posed offspring,  who  depend  upon  the  parent  like 
members  of  one  body.  Through  gravitation  it 
holds  them  to  themselves  and  to  itself;  through 
heat,  light  and  electricity  it  furnishes  the  basic 
forces  underlying  all  their  individual  energies. 
Indeed  the  Sun  acts  now  as  a  kind  of  power-house 
to  the  entire  planetary  system  to  keep  it  going;  if  it 
no  longer  generates  planets,  it  generates  the  energy 
largely  by  which  they  move  and  live.  It  furnishes 
as  it  were  from  its  heat  the  blood  which  circulates 
not  only  through  its  own  Iwdy  (often  with  tremen- 
dous violence),  but  also  through  the  whole  plane- 
tary system,  making  the  same  a  single  organic 
whole  or  systemic  unit. 

The  Sun's  diameter  is  866,500  miles,  which  is 
about  110  times  as  great  as  that  of  the  Earth.  The 
force  of  gravity  on  the  surface  of  the  Sun  is  nearly 
28  times  as  great  as  that  on  the  surface  of  the  Earth. 
It  is  supposed  that  an  ordinary  man  weighing  150 
pounds,  transported  thither,  would  be  crushed  by  his 
weight  and  sink  down  with  broken  bones,  if  nothing 
else  happened  to  him.  This  overwhelming  gravity 
of  the  Sun  increasing  toward  the  center  by  super- 
incumbent pressure,  is  a  very  important  item  in  the 
process  of  the  solar  body  as  we  shall  see. 

The  mass  of  the  Sun  is  324,000  times  as  great  as 
that  of  the  Earth,  but  its  volume  is  not  in  propor- 
tion, since  the  density  of  the  Earth  is  estimated  to 


THE  SUN.  325 

be  about  four  times  as  great  as  that  of  the  Sun. 
The  Earth  being  so  much  smaller  has  cooled  off  far 
more  rapidly  since  the  time  of  its  original  separa- 
tion from  the  Sun,  whose  volume  is  calculated  to  be 
more  than  1,250,000  times  as  great  as  that  of  the 
Earth.  Thus  the  Sun  is  much  nearer  its  original 
nebular  condition — for  instance,  its  condition  when 
it  was  a  spiral  ejecting  planets— than  the  Earth. 
The  difference  between  their  respective  masses  and 
volumes  has  this  meaning.  "We  may  suppose  that 
when  the  Earth  was  thrown  off,  its  density  and 
temperature  were  pretty  nearly  the  same  as  those  of 
the  ejecting  body,  though  not  quite.  Another  im- 
portant comparative  fact  in  this  connection  is  that 
the  Sun  is  computed  to  be  nearly  800  times  as  great, 
that  is,  as  massive,  as  all  the  planets  combined. 
Since  gravitation  depends  upon  mass,  we  see  how 
much  strength  the  Sun  has  kept  for  himself — far 
more  than  that  of  all  his  children  together,  if  they 
should  ever  try  to  pull  against  him — which  indeed 
they  would  do  if  lured  by  a  mightier  outside 
power.  Ready  to  revolt  they  must  be  to  the 
stronger  Sun.  We,  therefore,  imagine  a  rim  of  the 
Solar  S3''stem  where  it  joins  the  domain  of  its  next 
neighbor.  The  firmancnt  must  be  full  of  these 
imaginary  limits  which  each  particular  Solar  Sys- 
tem (or  star)  draws  around  its  possessions — the 
fenced-off  farms  of  the  skies.  Our  Sun  is  also  a 
monocrat  in  character,  we  may  think;  at  least  he 
never  divided  himself  and   became   two    Suns — 


326  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

which  seems  to  have  been  the  case  with  his  nearest 
solar  companion,  Alpha  Centauri,  whose  system  is 
apparently  a  kind  of  dyarchy — two  central  lumi- 
naries revolving  around  each  other. 

The  average  distance  of  the  Earth  from  the  Sun 
is  now  put  down  at  92  to  93  millions  of  milhons  of 
miles.  This  measurement  is  derived  from  obser- 
vations taken  at  the  transit  of  Venus  across  the 
solar  disc.  Several  other  ways  have  been  devised 
by  astronomers.  The  distance  of  the  Earth  from 
the  Sun  becomes  important,  since  it  is  employed  as 
a  unit  of  measure  for  marking  off  (with  a  kind  of 
surveyor's  chain)  the  enormous  spaces  of  the  Cos- 
mos (the  so-called  astronomical  unit).  Neptune, 
the  outermost  planet  yet  discovered,  is  distant 
from  the  central  luminary  30  such  units,  and  Alpha 
Centauri,  the  nearest  star,  275,000,  that  is,  so 
many  times  92  millions  of  miles.  This  unit  of 
measure  of  the  physical  universe  should  be  ascer- 
tained with  the  greatest  possible  precision  and  it  is 
still  being  overhauled  by  astronomers.  Some 
years  ago  it  stood  in  the  text  books  95  millions  of 
miles,  but  that  figure  has  been  shown  to  be  too 
large.  It  may  be  said  of  all  these  huge  measure- 
ments that  they  are  given  with  slight  variations  by 
different  authors.  Still  there  is  substantial  agree- 
ment except  in  one  case,  that  pertaining  to  the 
degree  of  the  Sun's  heat  on  its  surface.  Pouillet^ 
says  1600  degrees  Centigrade,  Rossetti  10,000, 
Secchi   10,000,000   (as  reported  by  Flammarion). 


THE  SUN.  327 

The  general  belief  among  scientists,  as  far  as  we 
have  been  able  to  tra'ce  it,  places  the  Sun's  heat  at 
about  8  to  10,000  degrees  Centigrade,  though  it 
must  differ  a  good  deal  in  different  localities.  The 
heat  of  the  sun  is  the  original  driving  power  of  the 
Solar  System,  but  it  has  not  yet  been  caught  and 
utilized  by  machinery.  The  solar  engine  is  yet  in 
its  infancy.  A  distinguished  scientist  declares  that 
the  noontide  heat  of  a  summer  Sun  beating  down 
upon  the  area  of  Manhattan  Island,  would  ''drive 
all  the  steam  engines  of  the  world."  The  Sun  is 
truly  the  vast  reservoir  of  systemic  power  which 
will  be  one  day  directly  tapped  by  the  children  of 
Earth. 

The  velocity  of  light  is  pretty  well  settled  to  be 
186,000  miles  per  second.  The  credit  of  its  first 
ascertainment  belongs  to  a  young  Dane,  Olaus 
Roemer.  At  the  Paris  Observatory  (about  1675) 
he  made  the  pivotal  observation  that  the  eclipses 
of  Jupiter's  moons  are  seen  later  where  the  Earth 
is  farthest  from  Jupiter,  than  when  the  Earth  is 
nearest.  He  inferred  correctly  that  this  difference 
arose  from  the  time  required  by  light  for  traversing 
the  Earth's  orbit,  whose  total  circuit  measures 
084  millions  of  miles.  As  this  orbit  is  an  ellipse 
the  distance  across  its  area  varies.  The  Earth  is 
about  three  millions  of  miles  nearer  the  sun  when 
in  perihelion  than  when  in  aphehon.  Now  this 
measurement  of  the  speed  of  the  Sun's  light  was  a 
great  achievement  in  science.     The  inference  was 


328  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

at  once  made  that  not  only  sunlight,  but  starlight, 
nebular  light,  in  fine  all  light  moves  at  the  same  rate. 
As  far  as  known  this  inference  has  never  been  gain- 
said. The  result  is  that  cosmical  light,  traversing 
enormous  distances  is  not  instantaneous,  as  it  is 
practically  on  the  Earth.  We  look  at  the  satellite 
of  Jupiter,  we  see  it  as  it  was  half  an  hour  since, 
not  as  it  is  now.  The  light  of  a  near-by  star  may 
be  only  five  years  old,  that  of  a  far-off  star  may  be 
five  thousand  years  old. 

If  our  instruments  ever  become  so  perfect  that 
we  can  see  what  is  taking  place  on  a  distant  star, 
the  event  may  be  already  centuries  old.  In  like 
manner  from  our  planet,  light  flashing  through 
space  for  twenty-four  hundred  years  may  be  just 
bringing  to  some  remote  eyesight  a  view  of  the 
battle  of  Marathon.  Certainly  light  bears  to  me 
through  space  and  in  time  the  impress  of  yonder 
mountain  or  of  yonder  man  chopping  down  a  tree. 
Why  should  it  not  be  carrying  the  whole  picture  of 
universal  History  in  its  radiance  through  the  Cos- 
mospherc?  Of  course  that  is  yet  to  be  proved. 
Possibly  it  may  yet  be  made,  by  some  device,  to 
deliver  up  the  entire  panorama  of  the  past  which 
it  has  seen  (humanly  speaking),  and  which  appears 
to  be  somehow  contained  in  it.  Moreover,  fight 
coming  from  opposite  directions  and  all  directions, 
does  not  seem  to  collide  with  itself,  but  always 
slips  through  its  own  counter  undulations  at  the 
same  rate  of  speed.     The  luminous  waves  from 


THE  SUN.  323 

millions  of  stars  iiiiist  cross  but  do  not  interfere 
apparently  with  one  another  at  meeting.  Such  are 
some  of  the  problems  or  at  least  imaginings  which 
the  measurement  of  the  velocity  of  light  suggests. 

The  Sun  is  slowly  contracting  through  its  loss 
of  heat  by  radiation.  The  vast  amount  of  this 
radiation  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  Earth 
receives  of  solar  heat  only  one  part  in  two  thou- 
sand millions.  The  calculation  was  made  by  two 
scientists,  Pouillet  and  Sir  John  Herschel,  who 
practically  agreed-  in  their  results,  though  each 
worked  independently  of  the  other — the  one  being 
in  Paris  and  the  other  in  South  Africa.  But  how 
is  this  enormous  c^uantity  of  heat  generated,  seem- 
ingly for  millions  of  years,  with  no  sensible  dimi- 
nution of  its  power  as  far  as  yet  observed?  The 
generally  accepted  theory  is  that  of  Helmholtz, 
which  ascribes  to  the  contraction  of  the  Sun  its 
ever-renewed  heat.  Indeed,  the  assertion  is  made 
that  the  Sun  is  actually  getting  hotter  in  spite  of 
its  thermal  loss,  that  contraction  overbalances  at 
present  the  dissipation.  Gravity  with  its  pres- 
sure is  thus  converted  into  a  radiant  energy. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  we  may  catch  the  main 
process  of  the  Sun,  its  double  action  inwards  and 
outwards,  a  kind  of  systole  and  diastole  of  the 
heart  of  our  world.  We  have  already  noted  the 
pressure  on  the  surface  of  the  Sun  to  be  twenty- 
eight  times  greater  than  that  on  our  Earth.  The 
internal  mat(>rial  of  the  Sun  is  supposed  to  be 


330  COSMOS   AXD  DIACOSMOS. 

gaseous  in  form,  though  by  the  enormous  condens- 
ation reduced  to  the  consistency  of  tar  or  honey. 
But  the  expansive  energy  of  the  gas  through  heat 
is  not  destroyed,  rather  is  it  vastly  intensified  and 
breaks  through  the  superincumbent  weight.  Here 
then  we  find  the  two  conflicting  forces  whose  des- 
perate battle  may  be  witnessed  in  the  colossal 
agitations  so  often  observed  in  the  Sun — the  whirl- 
ing and  changing  spots  and  facula?,  the  volcanic 
upheavals  and  protuberances,  the  jets  of  gas  flar- 
ing up  from  the  surface  many  thousands,  perchance 
millions  of  miles.  Gravitation  on  the  one  hand, 
with  its  pressure  toward  the  center,  radiation  on 
the  other  hand  with  its  propulsion  outw^ards  from 
the  center — these  are  the  mighty  agencies  embat- 
tled in  the  Sun  and  struggling  against  each  other. 
It  is  the  primordial  dualism  of  the  Cosmos  and 
Diacosmos  concentrated  in  the  central  body  of 
our  Solar  System.  The  grand  opposite  or  enemy 
of  the  cosmical  principle  has  appeared  and  has 
grappled  with  its  antagonist  at  the  source.  Soon 
we  shall  have  to  consider  this  antagonist,  the  Dia- 
cosmos, in  his  own  right.  At  present,  however, 
we  must  put  into  its  main  outlines  the  total  System 
of  the  Sun ;  we  might  call  it  the  Systemic  Sun,  em- 
bracing the  solar  organism,  the  planetary  and  the 
interplanetary  bodies. 

It  is  evident  that  a  much  larger  quantity  of  as- 
trenomical  material  lies  in  this  field  than  in  any 
other  portion  of  the  science.     How  should  it  be 


THE  SUN.  331 

ordered?  Can  we  make  the  basic  process  shine 
through  the  mass?  First  we  may  regard  the  Sun 
in  its  cosmical  aspect,  as  endowed  with  the  elements 
of  the  Cosmos;  secondly,  the  Sun  unfolds  the  plan- 
ets out  of  itself,  certainly  its  act  of  separation; 
thirdly,  the  Sun  must  be  considered  in  its  diacos- 
mical  aspect,  asserting  itself  outwards  by  a  repel- 
lent or  radiant  energy,  as  well  inwards  by  attrac- 
tion. 

I.  Cosmical.  Assuredly  our  great  central  lum- 
inary is  a  member  of  the  Cosmos  as  a  whole,  and 
partakes  of  the  cosmical  character.  If  a  glance  is 
cast  back  to  the  beginning  of  this  book,  we  find  its 
earliest  portion  to  pertain  to  the  elements  of  the 
Cosmos.  These  are  three — Motion,  Matter,  Meas- 
ure— those  universal  ideal  principles  which  always 
seem  to  rise  up  in  advance  of  their  real  forms  of 
manifestation.  The  Solar  System  must  then  be 
first  considered  in  this  its  original  elemental  aspect. 

1.  Motion.  The  sun  still  rotates  on  its  axis, 
such  being  doubtless  its  primordial  motion  as 
Heliosphere,  yea,  the  primordial  Motion  of  the 
l)hysical  universe.  It  performs  this  axial  rotation 
in  about  25  daj^s;  that  is,  to  one  solar  revolution 
the  earth  makes  twenty-five  revolutions.  But  the 
sun's  diameter  is  more  than  a  hundred  times  that  of 
the  earth;  the  result  must  be  that  the  solar  surface 
whirls  much  more  rapidly  than  the  terrestrial  sur- 
face. But  now  comes  the  veiy  suggestive  fact: 
the  surface  of  the  sun  does  not  rotate  in  one  piece 


332  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

(like  the  earth),  but  varies  in  each  latitude,  with 
velocity  decreasing  from  the  equator  to  the  poles. 
We  are  to  remember  that  the  density  of  the  sun  is 
four  times  less  than  that  of  the  earth,  one  fourth 
more  than  water.  Then  the  solar  rotary  velocity 
is  much  greater  than  the  terrestrial.  Thus  we  have 
one  source  of  the  great  agitation  always  witnessed 
on  the  solar  surface.  The  mighty  struggle  between 
Gravitation  and  Rotation  never  ceases,  though  it 
varies.  This  must  i)roduce  collisions  of  matter 
which  generates  heat  and  intensifies  expansion. 
On  the  other  hand  there  must  be  some  cooling  pro- 
cess in  the  sun  itself;  possibly  it  lies  in  that  slower 
movement  of  the  solar  material  toward  the  poles. 
The  sun-spots  are  more  numerous  near  the  sun's 
equator,  on  each  side  of  which  they  move  in  two 
nearly  parallel  zones.  These  spots  show  fusion  of 
what  appears  a  darker  and  cooler  mass,  which  is  in 
the  process  of  being  again  melted.  Colossal  are 
these  solar  convulsions,  and  their  details  as  well  as 
their  causes  are  not  well  known;  but  in  general  we 
have  to  conceive  them  as  the  ever-active  throes  of 
the  sun  in  planet-making.  The  sun-spots  suggest 
little  planetoids  which  are  always  being  produced, 
but  always  falling  back  into  their  source.  The 
prominences,  the  eruptions,  the  jets  of  flame  reach- 
ing 142,000  miles  from  the  solar  body,  indicate  the 
terrific  effort  of  the  sun  still  to  bear  worlds.  But 
it  would  seem  that  the  period  of  her  procreative 
energy  is  past.     We  shall  probably  not  witness  the 


THE  SUN.  333 

birth  of  another  planet,  yet  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  lyany  phenomena  of  planetogenesis  can  be  ob- 
served in  the  solar  activities.  Thus  some  of  the 
early  eventc  of  our  terrestrial  evolution  are  taking 
place  today  on  their  original  stage. 

Accordingly  the  sun  has  a  common  axial  motion 
which  splits  up  into  many  motions  on  its  surface. 
But  the  sun  has  als-o  an  orbital  motion  which  is 
carrying  it  through  the  celestial  spaces.  This  fact 
has  been  already  noted. 

'2.  Matter.  This  is  the  second  cosmical  ele- 
ment. The  Matter  of  the  solar  organism  manifests 
attraction  through  gravitation,  whose  limit  doubt- 
less extends  to  the  b(  undary  lines  of  its  adjoining 
stc^llar  neighbors.  Of  these  the  nearest  is  Alpha 
of  th{\  Centaur  (see  preceding  p.  268),  On  the 
other  hand  the  sun  has  a  repellent  power  which 
springs  from  its  axial  rotation,  and  which  consti- 
tutes its  separative  or  creative  activity  (see  pre- 
ceding p.  263).  Motion  as  rotatory  shows  itself 
the  Separating  in  regard  to  Matter  which  through  it 
becomes  the  Separated  (for  this  distinction  see  pre- 
ceding p.  12,  40).  We  may  well  deem  this  rotatory 
ejection  of  Matter  as  the  first  form  of  radiation, 
which  is  to  attain  such  prominence  later  in  the 
Diacosmos.  Matter  is  indeed  to  become  self  lumi- 
nous, ever  separating  from  itself  and  raying  forth 
afar  through  the  celestial  spaces. 

3.  Measure.  It  has  been  set  forth  that  Motion 
and  Matter  are  inherently  quantitative,  and  so  can 


334  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

be  and  indeed  must  be  measured.  The  first  great 
act  of  cosmical  measurement  is  found  in  Newton's 
law  of  gravitation.  Though  it  was  enounced  after 
Kepler's  three  laws  and  was  probably  derived  from 
one  of  them,  it  is  more  simple  and  more  universal 
than  they  are;  we,  therefore,  place  it  at  the  start  of 
the  present  stage.  Kepler  should  come  next  with 
his  famous  three  laws,  of  which  the  first  declares 
the  orbits  of  planets  to  be  elliptical,  the  second  af- 
firms the  proportion  between  the  areas  and  times  of 
the  radius  vector,  the  third  connects  all  planetary 
orbits  in  stating  that  the  squares  of  the  periodic 
times  of  planets  are  to  each  other  as  the  cubes  of 
their  distances  from  the  sun.  A  chief  interest  of 
these  three  Keplerian  laws  is  that  they  constitute 
together  a  totality  in  which  w-e  may  see  a  process. 
The  first  grasps  the  one  outer  basic  form  of  all  orbits, 
unifying  their  diversity;  the  second  deals  with  the 
inner  differences  of  the  same  orbital  round  of  the 
planet,  finding  their  common  measure  by  means  of 
the  radius  vector;  the  third  embraces  all  orbits 
(herein  it  is  like  the  first  law)  and  formulates 
their  common  measure  which  indicates  their  one 
basic  principle  (herein  it  is  like  the  second) .  Such 
is  their  process  moving  from  outer  form  to  inner 
character,  and  putting  under  the  unity  of  law  the 
varied  and  confusing  orbital  phenomena.  Kepler 
has  quantified  the  solar  system,  running  geometric 
lines  through  it  and  formulating  arithmetically  its 
proportions.     To  the  Motion  of  planetary  Matter 


THE  SUN.  335 

he  has  given  Measure,  and  thus  revealed  the  full 
round  of  the  elemental  Cosmos  in  his  particular 
field.  Immortal  fame  he  deserves  for  putting 
order  into  our  sun-world,  and  probably  he  has  fur- 
nished the  basic  conception  for  ordering  other 
solar  systems,  even  the  binary  and  ternary. 

There  is  a  third  law  or  principle  belonging  to  the 
present  subject,  upon  .which  recent  astronomers 
have  placed  much  stress:  it  is  named  usually  the 
consei-vation  of  the  moment  of  momentum  (not  the 
conservation  of  energy).  The  momentum  of  a 
body  is  its  mass  multipHed  by  its  velocity  (??zr); 
if  it  be  moving  in  a  plane  about  a  center,  the  pro- 
duct of  the  radius  or  perpendicular  into  the  momen- 
tum is  invariable.  This  principle  has  come  into 
prominence  in  order  to  find  the  unity  in  the  vast 
changes  produced  by  shrinkage  of  the  sun  and 
planets  and  worlds.  The  moment  of  momentum 
remains  the  same  whatever  be  the  alterations  of  the 
radius  and  the  momentum:  they  are  variable  but 
their  product  is  invariable.  Here  then  we  have  the 
common  principle  in  all  the  mutations  of  cosmical 
evolution. 

The  law  of  gravitation  implies  the  tendency  of  all 
bodies  toward  unification  and  measures  the  same; 
the  Kcplcrian  laws  imply  rotation  combined  with 
gravitation  in  the  diverse  planetaiy  orbits  and 
measure  these  orbits ;  the  conservation  of  the  mo- 
ment of  momentum  assumes  not  the  sameness  and 
permanence   of  bodies  and   their  motion   (as  do 


336  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Newton  and  Kepler),  but  the  vast  evolutionary 
changes  of  world-formation,  and  expresses  the  con- 
stant principle  which  pervades  and  unifies  all 
these  changes. 

The  mathematical  details  of  these  measurements 
must  be  here  omitted.  But  in  a  general  way  we 
can  see  that  the  Measure  of  the  Motion  of  Matter 
has  been  manifested  specially  in  the  Solar  System, 
that  the  three  elemental  principles  of  the  Cosmos 
have  been  shown  in  a  particular  process,  which  is 
probabh'  typical  of  all  other  worlds  of  the  cosmical 
system. 

II.  Planetary.  It  is  pretty  generally  agreed 
that  the  planets  have  been  separated  from  the  Sun, 
or  from  the  primordial  Heliosphere,  and  thus  they 
represent  the  deepest  separative  act  or  stage  of  the 
Solar  System.  It  may  be  said  that  the  Sun  has 
particularized  himself  in  the  Planets,  in  accord 
with  the  analogous  case  of  the  total  Cosmos  already 
set  forth  (see  Particularized  Cosmos).  Another 
analogy  is  the  genetic:  the  planets  may  be  deemed 
the  children  of  the  sun,  showing  many  char- 
acteristics derived  from  the  parent,  and  they  still 
belong  emphatically  to  his  family,  being  hold  in 
unity  by  a  kind  of  affection  called  gravitation. 
Their  evolution  from  the  Heliosphere  has  been  al- 
ready given,  through  which  come  to  them  certain 
endowments  from  higher  sources.  Says  Prof. 
Ball:  The  Solar  System  "commences  with  a  cer- 
tain endowment  of  energy,  with  a  certain  endow- 


THE  SUN.  337 

ment  of  the  moment  of  momentum,  and  with  a 
certain'  principal  plane  to  which  that  moment  of 
momentum  is  related"  (The  Earth's  Beginning, 
p.  229).  Such  are  the  three  transmitted  gifts  ac- 
cording to  the  famous  astronomer.  The  whole 
planetary  retinue  moves  in  the  same  general  plane 
with  the  sun  (not  counting  two  or  three  small 
lunar  exceptions),  and  in  the  same  direction,  just 
as  whirled  off  originally  from  the  Heliosphere. 
But  whence  did  the  latter  get  its  rotatory  motion 
and  its  degree  of  energy?  That  has  been  already 
sufficiently  discussed;  at  present  we  shall  seek  the 
order  of  the  planets  which  move  in  a  succession  of 
orbits  or  rings  around  the  Sun,  suggesting  the  con- 
centric layers  of  the  original  spiral  nebula. 

There  are,  however,  many  unsettled  anomalies 
in  the  Planetary  System,  which  render  a  perfectly 
transparent  ordering  of  it  as  yet  impossible.  Then 
our  knowledge  of  it  is  deficient  in  certain  important 
matters.  The  outermost  planets  seem  the  least 
developed,  yet  they  must  have  been  mechanically 
the  first  thrown  off  in  the  nebular  genesis  of  our 
system.  It  would  seem,  then,  that  evolution  has 
been  far  more  rapid  in  the  case  of  some  planets  than 
in  others;  indeed  the  last  born  appear  to  be  the  first 
matured  and  perchance  the  first  dead.  But  this 
whole  subject  is  still  uncertain.  We  shall,  however 
begin  with  the  interior  group  of  Planets  (Mercury 
and  Venus);  then  glance  at  the  middle  group 
(Earth,   Mars,  Planetoids  and   Jupiter   the   huge 

22 


338  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

transitional  Planet) ;  finally  consider  their  exterior 
group  (Jupiter,  Saturn,  Uranus,  and  Neptune)- 
This  seems  the  best  way  to  grasp  the  planetary 
order  as  it  exists  before  us  at  present,  though  the 
line  of  its  evolution  in  time  may  have  been  the 
reverse. 

Having  made  the  three  groups  aforesaid,  we  are 
next  to  seek  the  deepest  ground  for  distinguishing 
them.  Such  a  ground  lies  to  our  mind,  in  the 
original  world-creating  act  itself  through  which 
planets  and  also  their  satellites  came  into  being. 
The  Sun  begets  the  Planet  and  the  Planet  begets 
the  Moon;  all  these  children  and  grandchildren  will 
show  their  common  descent,  yet  likewise  different 
degrees  of  variation  which  will  furnish  criteria  for 
grouping  them. 

1.  The  Intei^ior  Group.  Mercury  is  the  planet 
nearest  to  the  Sun:  the  time  of  its  axial  revolution 
is  about  88  days,  which  is  also  the  time  of  its  orbital 
revolution.  Thus  it  moves  about  the  Sun  as  the 
Moon  moves  about  the  Earth.  After  Mercury 
comes  \"enus,  whose  axial  and  orbital  revolutions 
occur  in  the  same  time,  nearlv  225  days.  Herein 
it  is  similar  to  Mercury. 

This  seems  to  be  the  basic  fact  which  distin- 
guishes these  two  planets  from  all  others  of  the  Solar 
System.  It  has  been  named  the  isochronism  of 
their  two  circular  movements,  axial  and  orbital. 
Thus  they  are  relatively  the  two  satellites  of  the  Sun, 
and  they  have  no  satelhtes  of  their. own — wherein 


THE  SUN  .  339 

they  are  unique  among  the  planets.  Such  is  the 
general  character  which  groups  them  by  themselves. 
From  this  point  of  view  they  are  the  least  differ- 
entiated from  their  solar  parent,  the  least  individu- 
alized of  the  planetary  members,  always  turning 
the  same  face  toward  him  and  the  least  removed 
spatially  from  him.  Also,  there  is  no  separation 
strictly  between  the  day  and  the  year  (just  as  our 
moon's  day  is  the  month);  they  have  no  day  of 
their  own,  produced  by  their  own  distinctive  revo- 
lution, though  of  course  they  turn  on  their  axes  and 
in  their  own  time,  both  their  periods  being  differ- 
ent from  that  of  the  Sun,  which  is  25  of  our  days. 
Thus  they  are  separated  in  their  axial  motions 
which  however  remain  the  same  in  time  with  their 
orbital  motions.  Each  of  them  has  a  very  hot 
front,  a  face  in  perpetual  sunshine,  and  each  a  very 
cold  hinder  face  in  eternal  night.  Just  as  we  see 
only  one  side  of  the  Moon,  so  the  Sun  sees  only  one 
side  of  Venus  and  Mercury.  The  inference  lies 
near  that  they  can  not  be  inhabited,  at  least  l^y 
any  beings  like  ourselves.  At  the  same  time  they 
are  marked  by  strong  individual  differences  which 
need  not  be  recounted  here. 

And  now  let  it  be  announced  that  the  foregoing 
statements  are  by  no  means  accepted  by  all  astron- 
omers. It  was  the  Italian  Schiaparelli  who  first 
discovered  and  formulated  the  principle  of  plan- 
etary isochronism,  starting  with  his  observations 
on  Mercury  in  1882  and  concluding  with  those  on 


340  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Venus  in  1895.  Before  his  time  we  had  always 
read  in  the  books  that  the  length  of  the  day  of 
Venus  was  about  the  same  as  ours,  but  now  we  are 
told  that  it  lasts  more  than  224  of  our  days.  The 
crystalHzed  scientists  were  shocked  by  the  new 
idea,  veritably  revolutionary,  which,  however,  has 
not  failed  to  advance  steadily  toward  supremacy. 
An  American  astronomer,  Prof.  Percival  Lowell, 
from  his  observatory  at  Flagstaff,  Arizona,  has 
confirmed  the  chief  results  of  Schiaparelh. 

Another  point  should  be  noted  in  this  connection : 
the  existence  of  one  or  more  planets  between  Mer- 
cury and  the  Sun.  Especially  that  unborn,  but 
baptized  and  named  Vulcan  has  a  curious  little 
history.  Leverrier  calculated  the  existence  and 
even  the  position  of  the  outermost  planet  Neptune 
from  the  perturbations  of  other  known  planets, 
and  was  famously  rewarded  by  its  discovery.  From 
that  time  (1846)  to  this  the  mathematicians  especi- 
ally have  not  failed  to  trumpet  their  triumph:  our 
science  is  the  true  prophet  of  Nature.  But  now 
for  the  counter  stroke.  Leverrier,  from  the  per- 
turbations of  Mercury,  concluded  that  there  was 
an  innermost  planet  (as  well  as  outermost)  and 
started  to  find  it  through  calculation.  At  last  he 
announced  that  "Vulcan  would  cross  the  solar 
disc  March  22,  1877."  But  it  was  not  then  or 
afterwards  seen.  About  this  fact  there  has  been 
no  exultant  blare  of  trumpets,  though  it  be  a  curi- 
ous and  seemingly  necessary  counterpart  of  Nep- 


THE  SUN.  341 

tune  s  discovery.  We  have  found  the  story  only 
in  Fla'mmarion,  who,  though  a  great  astronomer 
and  mathematician,  did  not  Hke  Leverrier,  his  fel- 
low-laborer and  fellow-countryman  (on  account  of 
some  snub,  as  we  gather  it). 

2.  The  Middle  Group.  With  the  Earth  a  dis- 
tinct Group  of  Planets  begin,  which  have  evolved 
out  of  isochronism,  or  out  of  the  lunar  condition  in 
relation  to  the  Sun.  A  more  independent  plane- 
tary individuality  comes  to  view,  a  greater  separa- 
tion from  the  solar  parent.  The  axial  and  orbital 
motions  of  the  Earth  are  now  difTerenced  in  time, 
the  one  taking  a  little  less  than  24  hours,  the  other 
a  little  more  than  365  days.  Not  only  does  the 
Earth  refuse  to  be  a  moon  to  the  Sun,  but  it  has 
evolved  its  own  moon;  that  is,  it  has  itself  become 
genetically  a  kind  of  Sun,  begetting  its  satellite. 
Thus  the  first  group  (as  sun  and  planet)  has  repro- 
duced itself  in  the  second  planet  (as  earth  and 
moon).  Such  is  the  deeply  characteristic  change 
which  now  takes  place. 

The  next  planet  is  Mars,  which  also  has  dropped 
or  doubtless  transcended  the  principle  of  isochron- 
ism.  Its  time  of  axial  revolution  is  24  hours  plus, 
its  orbital  year  is  680  days  plus.  Herein  it  is  like 
the  Earth  as  to  character.  Also  it  has  produced 
moons,  not  one,  but  two  (Deimos  and  Phobos). 
These  were  discovered  by  Professor  Asaph  Hall  at 
the  Observatory  of  Washington  in  1877  and  pro- 
duced another  ferment  among  the  staid  astrono- 


342  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

mers  who  had  settled  down  to  the  time-honored 
dogma  that  "Mars  has  no  satelHtes."  It  is  a  curi- 
ous fact,  however,  that  Dean  Swift  in  his  "Gulh- 
ver's  Travels,"  assigned  two  moons  to  the  planet, 
Mars,  more  than  150  years  before  they  were  dis- 
covered. Voltaire  repeated  the  same  fancy  in  his 
satirical  romance,  ''Micromegas,"  some  30  years 
after  Swift.  Thus  poetic  imagination  had  seen  the 
two  Martian  satellites  long  before  the  telescope  had 
brought  them  into  the  range  of  the  outer  eye.  (The 
two  passages  from  Swift  and  Voltaire  are  cited  in 
Flammarion's  Popular  Astronomy,  translated  by 
Gore,  p.  395-6.) 

But  we  are  not  yet  done  with  the  two  moons  of 
Mars,  which  are  instances  of  the  pivotal  genetic 
principle  of  systemic  evolution.  They  are  very 
small,  probably  less  than  ten  miles  in  diameter; 
their  orbits  are  nearly  circular  and  they  revolve 
around  Mars  nearly  in  the  plane  of  his  equator, 
which  corresponds  to  that  of  the  total  Solar  System 
(with  a  few  exceptions) .  The  outer  satellite  makes 
its  revolution  in  a  little  more  than  thirty  hours, 
while  the  planet  rotates  on  its  own  axis  in  24  plus 
hours — which  constitutes  a  striking  difference  from 
our  Moon-Earth  system.  But  far  more  striking  is 
the  fact  that  the  second  satellite  (Phobos)  makes 
its  revolution  around  Mars  in  a  little  more  than 
seven  and  a  half  hours;  that  is,  in  less  than  one- 
third  of  the  time  of  the  axial  revolution  of  the 
planet    itself.    Imagine    a   little    moon    whirling 


THE  SUN.  343 

round  our  Earth  three  times  a  day  at  a  distance  of 
less  than  4000  miles  (the  distance  of  the  outer  planet 
from  the  surface  of  Mars  is  set  down  at  12,600  miles) . 
Such  is  the  marvelous  diversity  from  the  Earth's 
satellitic  system!  But  there  is  lacking  apparently 
the  keystone  of  knowledge  in  the  present  case :  that 
pertaining  to  the  isochronism  of  these  two  moons. 
Nobody,  as  far  as  our  search  has  extended,  has  yet 
been  able  to  detect  their  axial  motions,  doubtless 
on  account  of  their  extreme  smallness.  Therefore 
it  is  not  known  whether  their  orbital  round  is  syn- 
chronous with  their  axial.  But  little  Phobos  (Ter- 
ror) has  struck  terror  into  the  whole  nebular  hypo- 
thesis by  its  excessive  and  unaccountable  velocity 
around  its  primary  source. 

In  recent  years  the  planet  Mars  has  attracted 
much  attention,  more  than  any  other  planetary 
member  of  the  system.  It  has  changes  of  color 
and  different  tints  on  its  surface;  it  has  peculiar 
markings  conjectured  to  be  canals  and  seas  and 
oases,  some  of  which  are  supposed  to  be  artificial; 
it  has  some  good  claims  to  be  inhabited.  This 
special  interest  in  Mars  was  started  by  Schiaparelli, 
but  has  been  kept  up  and  furtheretl  by  the  work  of 
Prof.  Percival  Lowell.  But  of  these  matters  we 
can  hcn-e  take  no  account. 

After  Mars  follow  the  so-called  Asteroids  (or 
Planetoids),  the  first  of  which  was  rliscovered  by 
Piazzi  at  Palermo  on  January  1st,  1801,  the  first 
day  of  the  new  century  whose  very  suggestive  sym- 


344  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

bol  these  Planetoids  may  be  regarded.  The  system 
seems  here  to  break  into  a  vast  separation  and 
multipHcity ;  the  number  of  them  discovered  can 
not  be  far  from  500  at  present  (perhaps  more) ,  and 
gives  promise  of  running  out  toward  infinity.  Very 
early  the  conjecture  was  started  (by  Olbers)  that 
they  were  the  fragments  of  an  exploded  planet ;  but 
they  were  doubtless  thrown  off  by  the  evolving  and 
revolving  Heliosphere  (like  drops  from  a  rapidly 
whirling  wheel)  and  were  never  allowed  to  coalesce 
into  a  planet  by  the  mighty  attractive  power  of 
Jupiter,  which  is  still  acting  like  a  tidal  energy, 
and  keeping  them  separate.  According  to  Bode's 
law  there  should  be  a  planet  between  Mars  and 
Jupiter  whose  size  even  has  been  calculated  by 
astronomers.  There  is  a  large  vacant  space  be- 
tween the  Planetoids  and  Jupiter,  who  in  times 
past  may  have  swallowed  many  of  these  tiny  fishes 
of  the  solar  sea.  At  any  rate  the  Sun  must  have 
whirled  them  off  and  set  them  to  spinning,  while 
huge  Jupiter  prevented  them  from  consolidating. 
It  is  evident  that  Jupiter  in  this  case  works  like  a 
second  sun,  which  he  is  sometimes  called. 

It  is  a  question  whether  Jupiter  belongs  to  the 
middle  or  outer  group  of  planets.  On  the  whole 
its  system  of  satellites  seems  to  correspond  to  those 
of  Earth  and  Mars,  though  there  is  a  considerable 
increase  of  number.  The  peculiarity  of  Jupiter  is 
his  enormous  mass,  which  is  more  than  twice  as 
much  as  all  the  rest  of  the  planets  put  together. 


THE  SUN.  345 

In  this  and  other  respects  he  has  been  compared 
to  the  Sun.  He  rotates  on  his  axis  in  less  than  ten 
hours,  which  means  a  prodigious  velocity  at  the 
equator.  The  density  of  Jupiter  is  a  little  greater 
than  that  of  water,  and  nearly  the  same  as,  that  of 
the  Sun.  The  result  is  that  different  latitudes 
rotate  differently — a  phenomenon  which  is  also 
solar.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Jupiter  is  in  a  less 
advanced  stage  of  development  than  the  smaller 
planets;  in  fact  he  has  thrown  off  satellites  which 
arc  supposed  to  be  in  a  more  matured  condition 
than  he  is,  and  possibly  to  be  inhabited — which  is 
not  his  case.  Thus  Jupiter  must  have  been  much 
the  largest  mass  of  nebula  that  ever  separated  from 
the  Heliosphere  in  the  formation  of  the  system. 
This  planet  is  still  cooling,  though  still  quite  liquid ; 
seemingly  it  is  not  self-luminous.  It  has  doubtless 
passed  its  period  of  moon-making,  its  reproductive 
time  is  gone,  in  spite  of  the  struggles  noticeable  on 
its  surface.  A  similar  fact  was  observed  concern- 
ing the  Sun.  It  has  begotten  nearly  as  many  satel- 
lites as  the  Sun  has  begotten  planets;  moreover, 
there  is  a  largest  satellite  of  its  lunar  family  com- 
parable to  itself  both  as  to  size  and  position  in  the 
planetary  family.  Thus  the  Sun  has  most  com- 
pletely reproduced  himself  in  Jupiter,  who  is  now 
declared  to  have  seven  moons,  two  of  them  photo- 
graphic . 

3.     The  Exterior  Group.     The   line   of   Planets 
miglit  ijc  divided  at  or  even  through  Jupiter,  whose 


346  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

very  magnitude  can  be  taken  as  a  boundary  be- 
tween those  before  and  those  after.  He  is  a  second 
center  of  the  system,  exercising  a  secondary  control 
over  a  vast  number  of  comets,  of  planetoids,  and 
doubtless  of  other  kinds  of  unseen  interplanetary 
matter.  But  when  we  regard  his  satellitic  system, 
it  seems  definitely  finished  like  that  of  the  Earth 
and  Mars,  to  which  Jupiter  is  in  this  fact  allied.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  we  turn  to  the  next  planet, 
Saturn,  the  evidence  is  that  his  satellitic  system  is 
not  completed,  but  is  still  in  the  process.  The 
rings  differentiate  Saturn  very  strikingly  from  all 
the  preceding  planets,  and  compel  a  new  group.  It 
has  an  annular  system  as  well  as  a  lunar.  These 
rings  are  composed  of  small  particles  revolving  to- 
gether around  their  planetary  center,  though  the 
revolution  is  faster  on  the  inside  than  on  the  outside 
of  the  rings.  The  particles  are  essentially  small 
moons,  each  with  its  own  orbital  and  probably  axial 
motion,  though  the  latter  of  course  cannot  be  ob- 
served. In  addition  to  the  rings  Saturn  has  ten 
satellites,  two  of  them  photographic.  Others  will 
probably  be  found.  Saturn,  therefore,  is  in  a  cer- 
tain stage  of  moon-making,  and  reveals  probably 
what  other  planets  have  gone  through.  It  has 
rings,  satehites  and  seemingly  sateUoids. 

In  regard  to  the  body  of  Saturn,  it  has  much  less 
density  than  Jupiter,  being  one-eighth  of  that  of 
the  Earth.  It  is,  therefore,  nearer  to  the  oi-iginal 
nebular  mass  of  the  Heliosphere  from  which  it  once 


THE  SUN,  347 

separated.  Its  distance  from  the  Sun  is  86G  mil- 
lions of-miles,  and  it  receives  a  proportionally  small 
amount  of  solar  heat;  but  its  own  heat  makes  it 
"thermally  self-supporting."  Its  axial  rotation  is 
very  rapid,  taking  place  in  ten  and  a  quarter  hours; 
while  its"  orbital  revolution  is  slow  as  compared  to 
the  preceding  i)lanets.  On  the  whole  Saturn  mani- 
fests a  very  early  stage  of  planetary  evolution. 

After  Saturn  comes  Uranus,  discovered  by  Her- 
schel  in  1781.  It  is  very  hot,  not  from  the  Sun,  but 
from  itself ;  too  hot  to  allow  water  to  be  formed  on 
its  surface.  It  must  accordingly  be  in  a  gaseous 
condition;  hydrogen  and  oxygen  are  probably  pres- 
ent, but  cannot  combine.  Still  the  striking  fact 
about  it  lies  in  the  peculiar  motion  of  its  four  moons, 
they  together  revolve  in  the  same  plane  and  in  the 
same  direction,  but  almost  at  right  angles  to  the 
plane  of  the  ecliptic  (at  83  degrees)  and  retrograde 
to  the  whole  previous  movement  of  the  solar  sys- 
tem— sun,  i)lanets  and  satellites.  This  deviation, 
or  rather  defiance  of  what  seems  established  sys- 
temic law,  has  produced  much  wondering  and  con- 
jecture, and  has  given  comfort  to  the  revolutionists. 
Not  one  exceptional  moon  but  four  of  them  turn 
here  according  to  some  regulation  of  their  own, 
which  they  obey  in  common  while  they  disobey 
not  only  their  own  planetary  parent  but  the  ad- 
justment of  the  whole  solar  family.  It  is  declared, 
however,  that  the  single  moon  of  the  outermost 
planet,  Neptune,  is  guilty  of  the   same  violation. 


348  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

The  exterior  group  of  planets  shows  an  alto- 
gether new  stage  of  their  genetic  act  in  the  pro- 
duction of  satellites.  The  first  bodies  thrown  off 
by  the  Heliosphere — Uranus  and  Neptune,  as  fai- 
as  we  know — had  their  own  lunar  development. 
It  is  possible  that  these  refractory  moons  are  the 
primordial  ejects  of  a  neighboring  system,  but  have 
been  picked  up  by  our  border  planets  and  united 
to  our  system,  though  retaining  their  original  mo- 
tion as  satellitic.  Thus  we  may  for  the  nonce  keep 
the  nebular  hypothesis,  which  has  been  badly 
shaken  up  and  some  think,  shattered,  by  those  far- 
off  moons  of  Uranus  and  Neptune.  That  frontier 
hne  can  probably  be  crossed  under  conditions 
which  have  indeed  yet  to  be  investigated. 

Between  the  orbit  of  our  extreme  Planet  Nep- 
tune and  the  boundary  of  the  Solar  System  toward 
the  nearest  star  (Alpha  Centauri)  lies  an  enormous 
stretch  of  space,  more  than  4,000  times  the  dis- 
tance of  the  Sun  to  Neptune.  This  is  the  vast 
field  of  extra-Neptunian  Planets,  still  undiscovered 
but  supposed  to  exist.  The  example  of  Leverrier's 
success  has  been  a  powerful  stimulus  to  astron- 
omers (see  preceding  p.  271).  Symmetrically 
there  is  an  intra-Mercurial  domain  to  be  explored. 

In  his  deservedly  popular  book,  The  Earth's  Be- 
ginning, says  Prof.  Ball:  "The  movements  of  the 
satellites  of  Uranus  and  Neptune  do  not  disprove 
the  nebular  hypothesis.  They  rather  illustrate  the 
fact  that  the  great  evolution   which  has   wrought 


THE  SUN.  349 

the  solar  system  into  form  has  not  yet  finished  its 
work.  '.  .  .  When  that  work  shall  have  been 
completed,  the  satellites  of  Uranus  and  Neptune 
will  no  longer  be  dissociated  from  the  general  con- 
cord" (p.  347).  There  may  be  well  some  question 
about  this  remote  result ;  l)ut  the  real  difficulty  can 
be  stated  in  the  interrogation:  How  did  these 
strange  exceptions  get  to  be  out  there  on  the  fron- 
tier of  our  world?  The  genetic  problem  is  the  one 
which  faces  us  now  and  with  which  we  are  deal- 
ing. We  have  to  think  that  if  the  moons  of 
Uranus  and  Neptune  had  been  thrown  off  by  our 
Heliosphere,  they  would  have  conformed  to  the 
general  motion  and  angular  inclination  of  the 
System.  But  their  exceptional  position  and  move- 
ment could  only  have  sprung  of  an  adjoining 
Heliosphere  from  which  they  have  been  deflected 
by  Gravitation,  though  preserving  their  original 
endowment  of  motion. 

Apart  from  these  anomalies  on  the  border,  our 
solar  System  shows  a  remarkable  symmetry 
throughout.  The  orbits  are  ellipses,  though  vary- 
ing, and  lie  in  nearly  the  same  plane;  sun,  plan- 
ets and  satellites  revolve  in  the  same  direction 
(with  the  exceptions  already  noted) ;  their  planes 
of  rotation  (axial)  nearly  coincide  with  their  or- 
bital planes,  and  so  with  one  another;  they  all  ro- 
tate in  the  same  direction  (as  far  as  can  be  seen) . 
This  essential  sameness  of  revolution,  rotation  and 
direction  implies  sameness  of  origin;  the  difference 


350  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

in  these  regards  on  the  border  can  only  imply  a 
difference  of  origin. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  in  the  system-making 
of  our  Heliosphere,  we  have  come  upon  bodies 
which  the  latter  did  not  evolve.  With  this  phe- 
nomenon rises  that  of  the  comets  which  are  often 
supposed  to  have  a  foreign  origin,  even  if  natural- 
ized in  our  Solar  System.  In  general,  however, 
our  Heliosphere  has  begotten  its  children  and 
grandchildren,  and  kept  them  within  the  family. 
Or,  in  othtr  phrase,  we  have  seen  the  triple  process 
at  work:  (1)  original  axial  rotation;  (2)  radial  en- 
ergy ejecting  bodies  which  then  fly  off  tangentially 
(the  whole  is  often  called  centrifugal  force)  ;(3)  or- 
bital revolution  of  these  ejected  bodies,  caused  by 
gravitation  (centripetal).  Evidently  planetary  ev- 
olution has  been  a  colossal  struggle  between  Rota- 
tion and  Gravitation,  with  a  kind  of  compromise 
which  has  kept  the  separated  bodies  revolving  in 
the  one  sj^stem.  Thus  the  separation  is  preserved 
yet  is  also  counteracted;  Gravitation  turns  back 
to  the  central  body  the  rotating  planet  from  its 
radial  sweep  outwards,  and  ends  the  planetary 
process. 

III.  DiACOSMiCAL.  Not  a  new  Sun,  but  a  new 
act  of  him  now  appears,  different  from  the  gravi- 
tational, which  has  hitherto  dominated  the  Cosmos. 
We  have  just  seen  how  he  controls  with  his  mass 
the  planets  which  he  has  ejected  in  smaller  masses. 
But  now  the  Sun  begins  to  show  himself  as  degrav- 


THE  SUN.  351 

itational,  undoing  gravitation  in  himself,  and  man- 
ifesting self-luminosity,  which  is  a  persistent  radia- 
tion of  himself  in  opposition  to  attraction.  In  this 
stage  he  may  be  said  to  be  ejecting  not  planets  but 
himself;  he  is  supremely  radiative,  self- repellent, 
self-separative;  he  is  no  longer  cosmical  but  dia- 
cosmical.  That  is,  through  our  central  luminary 
we  are  passing  out  of  the  Cosmos  into  the  Diacos- 
mos,  from  a  world  essentially  centripetal  to  a 
world  essentially  centrifugal,  from  the  unitary  to 
the  separative  stage  of  total  Nature.  The  planets 
are  not  self-luminous  or  self-ejective,  or  only  so  to 
a  small  degree ;  they  largely  receive  from  the  out- 
side their  heat  and  light,  though  they  were  born  of 
the  Sun  and  may  once  have  been  more  radiant 
tlian  now.  Through  the  Sun,  or  perchance  through 
the.Suns,  Nature  becomes  diacosmical  and  is  to  b^ 
investigated  on  this  side,  namely  on  the  side  of 
her  radiant  energy.  That  is,  however,  her  next 
great  stage  of  development  which  we  are  soon  to 
take  up. 

In  reference  to  the  Diacosmical  Sun,  we  may  in 
the  first  place  regard  it  as  the  systemic  reservoir 
of  the  mighty  outpushing  energy  of  our  physical 
world — the  energy  which  separates,  atomizes,  dc- 
gravitates,  and  which  we  find  in  us  and  around  us 
everywhere,  having  received  it  in  some  way  from 
its  fountain-head.  In  the  second  place  this  Sun  is 
radiant,  yea  self-radiant  and  self-repellent  quite  to 
infinity,  as  we  now  may  recognize  by   the  photo- 


352  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

graphic  plate  revealing  an  invisible  stellar  uni- 
verse. In  the  third  place  it  has  recently  been  dis- 
covered that  this  Sun  (or  Suns)  must  be  taken  as 
the  original  laboratory  from  which  proceed  all  the 
diverse  chemical  elements,  which  are  also,  it  would 
seem,  to  be  put  into  a  line  of  evolution. 

Our  Diacosmical  Sun,  however,  in  its  present 
stage,  is  not  the  earliest  forge  of  elemental  matter, 
if  there  be  found  in  it  thirty-six  different  chemical 
elements,  as  has  been  stated. 

It  is  evident  that  our  systemic  Cosmos  nas  now 
been  brought  to  a  conclusion,  since  its  ultimate 
principle  has  been  reversed  in  a  new  order.  Still 
further,  the  Cosmos  as  such,  as  has  here  been  con- 
ceived, is  distinctly  transcended.  It  has  unfolded 
hitherto  its  unity,  and  is  held  together  by  the  at- 
traction of  its  separate  bodies,  which  shows  the 
overcoming  of  all  separation  in  a  final  unitary  sys- 
tem, the  solar.  The  outcome  of  the  Cosmos  is  the 
systemic  plan  of  the  physical  universe ;  this  plan 
we  have  seen  unfolding  in  Sun,  Planets,  and  Satel- 
lites, to  which  may  be  added  other  lesser  systemic 
forms.  The  three  stages,  called  here  the  Elemental, 
Particularized  and  Systemic  Cosmos,  have  run  their 
course,  each  being  a  part  of  the  greater  movement 
of  the  Cosmos,  yet  each  having  its  own  special 
movement  within  itself. 

We  have  reached  the  point  at  which  we  behold 
the  Diacosmical  Sun  ejecting  himself  in  a  vast  di- 
versity, dividing  himself  to  an  indefinite  smallness, 


THE  SUN.     •  353 

and  thus  uttering  (or  outoring)  himself  in  a  new 
way.  The  unity  of  Body  in  his  case  starts  to  fly 
asunder,  his  cohesive  indivicluahty  begins  to  dis- 
solve itself  and  therewith  to  dissolve  all  corporeal 
existence,  (for  instance  in  his  heat).  Now  this 
world  of  activity  we  intend  to  look  at  as  it  is  in 
itself,  distinct  from  its  source.  So  we  pass  to  .the 
Diacosmos  from  the  Diacosmical  Sun,  which,  as  we 
regard  it,  is  the  final  manifestation  and  transition 
of  the  Cosmos. 


23 


PART  SECOND. 

THE    DIACOSMOS. 

The  strangeness  of  this  word  Diacosmos  was 
briefly  remarked  in  the  opening  sentences  of  this 
book.  A  few  observations  in  regard  to  it  may  now 
be  added  to  what  was  there  said.  It  is  a  Unguisti.'- 
need  for  ordering  properly  the  total  realm  of  Nat- 
ural Science,  as  we  see  the  subject.  So  we  are 
driven  to  dig  up  and  resuscitate  a  term  of  the  old 
Greek  philosopher,  Democritus,  endowing  it  with 
new  though  cognate  significance,  and  making  it  stand 
for  one  of  the  three  grand  divisions  of  total  Nat- 
ure. Diacosmos,  by  its  etymology,  suggests  the 
separative  stage  of  the  cosmical  order,  separating 
from  the  Cosmos,  and  separating  within  itself  also. 
This  characteristic  we  shall  find  running  through  it 
from  beginning  to  end.  The  term  Physics  is  com- 
(354) 


THE  DIACOSMOS.  355 

monly  employed  for  designating  this  department  of 
science, 'leaving  out  Chemistry  and  adding  some- 
what of  Mechanics;  but  there  are  serious  objec- 
tions to  the  word,  though  in  some  instances  it  will 
have  to  be  emplayed.  The  title  in  our  school-days 
for  this  branch,  Natural  Philosophy,  seems  to  have 
lapsed  from  usage,  though  it  has  the  sanction  of  New- 
ton's great  work  {Princtpia  Pit ilosopliixe  Natural i.s). 
It  is  stated  by  Diogenes  Laertius  (Vit.  Phil.,  Book 
VI)  that  Democritus  was  the  author  of  a  treatise 
called  the  Little  Diacosmos,  in  which  his  doctrine  is 
set  forth.  That  doctrine  pertained  to  the  atom,  w^hich 
has  hkewise  been  revived  and  newly  applied  dur- 
ing the  last  hundred  years,  especially  in  chemistry. 
Democritus  was  verily  a  searcher  for  the  ultimate 
element  of  things  in  Natur(>,  which  was  for  him  the 
atom.  His  spirit,  accordingly,  was  in  marvelous 
consonance  with  the  spirit  of  to-day's  physical 
science,  an  ancient  prophecy  of  which  was  forecast 
in  his  philosophic  conceptions.  Possibly  the  credit 
of  priority  may  be  due  to  his  teacher,  Leucippus, 
often  declared,  the  originator  of  atomism.  It 
should  be  added  that  another  work  called  the  Great 
Diacosmos  was  attributed  to  Democritus,  but  its 
authenticity  was  questioned  already  in  antiquity. 
Having  the  thing,  we  shall  use  the  word,  for  the 
atom  both  ancient  and  modern  is  truly  diacos- 
mical. 

Undoubtedly  we  shall  have  to  make  the  Diacos- 
mos include  far  more   than  the   atom,  by  way  of 


356  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

contrast  with  and  reaction  against  the  Cosmos. 
For  instance  water  no  longer  holds  together  with 
any  degree  of  cohesion,  its  molecules  separate 
easily,  are  quite  indifferent  to  one  another;  we  may 
deem  it  Matter  loosened  up  within  and  ready  to 
go  asunder;  in  this  aspect  water  is  diacosmical, 
indeed  the  first  and  basic  liquid  of  the  Diacosmos. 
Heat  radiates  from  a  center  outward  in  opposition 
to  gravitation;  it  is,  therefore,  diacosmical  as  well 
as  Light.  If  a  glass  rod  be  rubbed  by  a  piece  of 
catskin,  it  will  attract  a  pithball,  or  other  light 
object  held  near  it;  that  is,  a  new  attraction  over- 
comes the  earth's  attraction  and  controls  the  same 
for  a  time;  so  we  have  to  think  that  a  diacosmical 
power,  Electricity,  grapples  with  and  triumphs 
over  a  previous  cosmical  power.  Then  the  move- 
ment of  Chemism  from  the  compound  to  the  ele- 
ment, from  the  element  to  the  atom,  from  the 
atom  to  the  ion,  corpuscle,  electron,  is  profoundly 
separative  and  diacosmical.  Such  is  a  hint  of  the 
vast  sweep  of  the  Diacosmos,  as  well  as  of  its  gen- 
eral character,  all  of  whose  phenomena  we  shall 
seek  to  organize  in  one  great  totality  with  its  duly 
ordered  divisions,  reaching  from  the  simply  unco- 
hcsive  molecules  of  the  fluid  at  the  start  to  the 
complete  disintegration  of  the  physical  universe 
through  Chemism  into  its  diacosmical  dust,  whose 
last  and  finest  particle  is  called  the  electron  or 
perchance  the  etherion  (on  which  there  will  be 
more  to  say  hereafter),. 


THE  DIACOSMOS.  357 

We  are,  therefore,  to  emphasize  in  our  thought 
of  the  Diacosmos,  that  it  is  the  active  opposite  of 
the  Cosmos,  the  negation  of  the  same  in  a  certain 
degree,  the  pronounced  reaction  against  cosmical 
properties  and  forces.  For  example  gravitation  is 
regarded  as  the  dominant  universal  energy  of  the 
physical  universe  extending  to  its  remotest  nebu- 
la^  Yet  gravitation  is  contradicted  by  the  gas, 
by  heat,  by  magnetism,  in  fine  by  the  whole  realm 
of  radiation.  Still  further,  the  cohesion  of  the 
solid  as  cosmical  is  broken  up  by  the  complete 
separability  of  the.  liquid  as  diacosmical.  Cohe- 
sion holds  the  body  together  and  keeps  it  from  dis- 
solution; it  is  the  preserver  of  cosmical  individu- 
ality. Upon  this  cohesion  is  the  first  assault  of  the 
Diacosmos,  seeking  to  break  the  chains  by  which 
it  holds  so  tightly  together  the  molecules  of  the 
solid,  resisting  their  separation  into  liquifaction. 
Besides  cohesion,  the  inertia  of  body  or  its  resist- 
ance to  Motion  is  assailed  by  the  diacosmical  en- 
ergy in  a  number  of  ways.  The  inert  body  resists 
its  own  return  to  a  state  of  rest  when  once  in 
movement ;  it  persists  in  being  what  it  is,  staying 
or  going.  In  radium,  an  otherwise  inert  element 
seems  to  possess  an  indefinite!  power  of  self-radia- 
tion, of  throwing  itself  away  without  losing  any 
of  itself,  or  very  little;  it  shows  a  mai'velous  mo- 
tion while  remaining  at  rest. 

If  gravitation  be  taken  as  the  pervasive,  univer- 
sal character  of  the  Cosmos,  we  naturally  seek  for 


358  COSMOS  AND  DIACGSMOS. 

the  similar  universal  fact  of  the  Diacosmos.    Or  we 
may  put  the  query  in   this  way:    What  is  the  sal- 
ient all-ordering  category  of  the  w^hole  realm  of  th" 
Diacosmos?     Or  is  there  any?     Certainly    no  uni- 
tarj'-  word  or  its  corresponding  thought  has  become 
prevalent  in  it  like   that  of  gravitation;  its  varied 
phenomena— light,     heat,     electricity,     chemism, 
hquids,   gases,   ethers — seem  to   lie   around    in  its 
field  quite  disconnected,  recalcitrant  to  any  com- 
mon ordering  principle.     It  is  true  that  the  Dia- 
cosmos is  the  stage  of  separation  in  the  movement 
of  total  Nature,  still  this   separation   has  its  law, 
its  organization,    yea  its  unity.     This  is  what  we 
are   now  specially   seeking.     For   the   Diacosmos 
with  all  its  disintegrating   tendencies  is  not  chaos 
even  if  some  think  that  it  is  rapidly  striding  thith- 
erward.    Now  we  are  going  to  apply  to  this  whole 
sphere  a  category  which   has   lately   been   formu- 
lated  and   applied  to  a  portion  of  it  only.     This 
category  is  known  as  radio-activity,  which  starting 
as  the  unique  property  of  a  newly  discovered  ele- 
ment, radium,  has  extended  its  domain  till  we  at 
present   sometimes  hear,   rather  indefinitely,  that 
all  Matter  is  radio-active  or  ray-emitting.     It  is  to 
be  observed  that  such   a  tendency  of  Matter  to 
pulse   forth   energy  is   quite  opposite   to   that  of 
gravitation,  the  ruling  power  of  the  Cosmos,  which 
Newton  so  completely  enthroned  almost  at  a  single 
stroke  of  genius.     A  similar  supreme  lord  over  the 
scattered  provinces  of  the  Diacosmos  has  long  been 


THE  DIACOSMOS.  359 

needed  and  likewise  souglit  for  urgently,  even  if  un- 
consciousl}^  for  the  most  part.  We  say,  then,  that 
the  dominating  principle  of  the  Diacosmos  is  radio- 
activity, as  the  dominating  principle  of  the  Cos- 
mos is  gravitation. 

It  is  true  that  this  radiating  power  has  long  been 
known,  particularly  in  the  case  of  Heat  and  Light. 
;uul  more  recently  of  Electricity.  These  are,  ac- 
cordingly, the  radiants  proper,  and  are  to  be  put 
into  a  group  by  themselves — a  diacosmical  group. 
But  that  all  the  chemical  elements — now  set  down 
at  eighty  in  number  in  the  most  recent  scientific 
book  under  my  eye — originate  in  radio-activity, 
and  are  seemingly  derived  from  one  primordial 
radio-active  element  is  a  glimpse  which  the  latest 
scientific  discovery  is  giving  us  at  this  moment, 
rather  uncertain  and  partially  cloud-hidden  still, 
but  nevertheless  very  promising.  At  the  other 
extreme  of  the  diacosmical  territory  we  shall  find 
the  fluids  (as  we  classify  them)  in  a  state  of  incip- 
ient or  potential  radio-activity.  So  we  may  repeat 
that  tlu'oughout  the  entire  sweep  of  the  Diacosmos 
radio-activity  is  the  common  principle  which  inter- 
relates its  diversified  parts  and  expresses  its  deep- 
est character. 

It  has  been  already  indicated  that  radio-activity 
physically  considered,  must  be  the  second  or  sepa- 
rative stage  of  Nature's  total  process.  It  is  a  form 
of  Motion,  the  common  diacosmical  form,  of  which 
Heat,  Light,  and  \hv  rest  are  onlv   varieties.     Mo- 


360  COSMOS  AND  DI A  COSMOS. 

tion  as  primordial  wc  have  called  the  Separating, 
ever-dividing  within  and  going  beyond.  Motion 
is  now  (diacosmically)  radiation,  yea  self-radiation, 
a  raying  out  and  over;  it  has  gotten  inside  of  Mat- 
ter, being  no  longer  outside  of  it  as  in  the  Cosmos, 
which  shows  bodies  moving  by  the  external  force 
of  attraction,  for  instance.  Radium  with  its  radio- 
activity seems  to  be  a  particle  of  Matter  trans- 
forming itself  into  Motion,  which  has  thus  quite 
appropriated  and  metamorphosed  its  old  foe  or 
primal  counterpart.  Nature  as  a  whole  is  the  sec- 
ond stage  of  the  Pampsychosis  grasped  in  its  triune 
totahty  as  God,  Nature,  Man.  But  Nature  as  de- 
rived must  show  the  creative  process  of  its  source, 
namely  the  All-Self  (Pampsychosis) ,  for  it  cannot 
in  the  last  instance  give  any  account  of  its  own 
cause  or  origin.  So  the  Diacosmos  we  have  to 
conceive  as  a  new  separation  of  the  primordially 
separated  Nature,  and  it  gives  a  new  manifestation 
of  Motion,  which  we  saw  to  be  the  first  created 
fact  of  Nature,  in  its  struggle  with  Matter,  the  sec- 
ond twin  of  Nature's  earliest  progeny,  namely  Mo- 
tion and  Matter.  Diacosmical  Motion,  therefore, 
is  revealed  in  radio-activity,  the  second  grand  ac- 
tivity of  Nature. 

If  the  Diacosmos  is  a  member  or  a  stage  of  the 
total  organization  of  Nature,  which  is  in  turn  but 
a  stage  of  the  still  vaster  All,  we  next  come  to  ask 
about  the  organization  of  the  Diacosmos  itself,  its 
own  distinct   process,    This  also  must  show  itself 


«  THE  DIACOSMOS.  361 

to  bo  at  bottom  psychical  in  accord  with  the  soul 
of  its  oiig'.nator.  The  following  scheme  we  shall 
set  down  as  a  kind  of  sign-post  pointing  out  the 
future  lines  of  the  more  detailed  exposition. 

First :  the  molecular  or  fluid  Diacosmos,  with  its 
three  leading  forms — Liquids,  Gases,  Ether. 

Second:  the  radiant  Diacosmos,  with  radiation 
explicit  in  its  three  forms  which  we  may  name  ra- 
diants— Heat,  Light,  Electricity, 

Third:  the  elemental  Diacosmos  or  Chemism,  in 
which  the  physical  universe  is  reduced  to  its  ulti- 
mate elements  (chemical) .  The  element,  however, 
will  be  still  further  analyzed  into  the  atom,  the 
ion,  the  electron. 

Such  is  the  end,  at  least  the  present  end,  of  the 
Diacosmos,  which,  we  may  for  the  nonce  suppose, 
starts  with  the  common,  ever-moving  sensuous 
fluid  called  water,  the  typical  liquid.  Streaming 
through  all  these  diverse  diacosmical  stages  we  are 
to  see  the  fundamental  principle  of  radio-activity 
under  different  shapes  with  its  power  of  interlink- 
ing the  many  separate  domains.  But  we  are  like- 
wise to  observe  the  inner  self-returning  movement 
in  these  three  stages  of  the  Diacosmos.  Here  we 
may  specially  note  the  act  of  Chemism,  the  third 
stage,  as  peculiarly  significant:  it  goes  back  to  the 
given  material  world  and  seeks  to  reduce  it  to  its 
elements  through  and  through;  its  historic  start- 
ing-point might  bo  deemed  its  first  analysis  of  that 
typical  liquid,  water,  which  we  have  taken  as  the 
material  beginning  of  the  diacosmical  cycle. 


362  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS.  » 

It  may  be  said  that  science  to-day  is  domi- 
narltly  diacosmical,  rather  than  cosmical  or  bio- 
logical. Two  hundred  years  ago  it  grappled  with 
the  mechanical  side  of  the  Cosmos'  in  a  mighty 
outburst  of  originality,  whose  greatest  representa- 
tive was  doubtless  Newton.  Fifty  years  ago  sci- 
ence became  for  a  time  overwhelmingly  biological 
through  the  work  of  Darwin.  But  the  crest  of  the 
scientific  wave  seems  now  to  be  rising  and  surging 
through  the  Diacosmos,  whose  most  secret  and  re- 
mote nooks  feel  its  pulsations.  The  infinitely 
small  is  pursued  with  a  passion  which  only  the 
spirit  of  the  age  coukl  beget  in  the  individual. 
The  scientific  mind  of  the  present  seems  to  be 
driving  forward  to  its  diacosmical  fulfilment  ere  it 
start  possibly  on  a  new  cycle  of   its  development. 

The  scientist  takes  Nature  as  the  given,  with 
which  to  experiment,  making  it  speak  out  its 
thought,  yea  its  category.  He  accepts  it  at  first 
hand,  as  the  ultimate  substance  in  which  he  works 
but  which  also  works  in  him,  transforming  his  very 
consciousness.  Nature  is  the  primordial  separa- 
tive stage  of  the  universe,  and  imparts  its  character 
to  the  soul  occupied  with  it  sympathetically  and 
continuously.  Moreover  we  have  found  the  Dia- 
cosmos  to  be  the  separative  stage  of  this  first  sep- 
aration— a  fact  whif'h  likewise  stamps  itself  upon 
the  spirit  of  the  investigator  of  the  present  realm. 
So  we  have  to  think  that  the  physicist  himself 
gets  to  be  diacosmical,  he  views  all  and  the  All 


THE  DIACOSMOS.  363 

from  his  special  sphere  of  Hfe  and  labor.  Hence 
it  conK's  that  he  refuses  to  penetrate  to  the  psy- 
chical source  of  his  own  world;  that  is  the  un- 
known and  unknowable,  the  domain  of  mystery, 
beyond  Nature,  which  is  his  spiritual  home.  Still 
further,  he  seems  just  now  to  be  turning  against 
the  Cosmos  with  no  little  energy,  and  assailing  its 
unitary  principle  of  attraction  which  at  least 
strives  toward  unifying  all  Matter  through  gravi- 
tation. But  the  diacosmical  spirit  is  separative, 
analytic,  radiative,  seeking  the  atom  and  then  di- 
viding it  again  and  again,  as  if  in  hot  pursuit  of 
zero.  The  eminent  physicist,  Le  Bon,  calls  his 
own  science  anarchic,  and,  if  we  catch  his  spirit, 
rather  glories  in  this  character  of  it  and  seemingly 
of  himself  as  scientist.  Undoubtedly  the  time  has 
a  furious  diacosmical  strain  which  science  must  re- 
flect, and  which  history  must  work  out.  Nations 
differ  in  this  regard:  politically  Europe,  with  its 
system  of  separate  states  (Polyarchy)  has  a  dia- 
cosmical similitude  to  the  present  science,  more  so, 
one  may  think,  than  the  United  States.  Educa- 
tion shows  a  good  deal  of  the  same  trend ;  the  Eu- 
ropean University,  which  has  been  bodily  trans- 
ported to  America,  is  in  character  as  well  as  in 
science  emphatically  diacosmical,  with  its  (^ver- 
deepening  tendency  toward  specialization,  and  its 
weakness  in  universalizing  and  in  the  universal 
disciplines,  though  it  still  calls  itself  the  univer- 
sity, the  home  of  training  to  the  universal.     The 


364  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

physicist  (or  the  diacosmist),  therefore,  more 
than  any  other  sort  of  man,  is  giving  the  spiritual 
time-beat  to  the  present  epoch;  let  him  make  hay 
while  the  sun  shines,  for  his  day  will  doubtless 
pass  on  like  the  rest,  leaving  a  very  considerable 
body  of  good  science  to  the  future. 

We  have  already  observed  that  the  cosmical 
center  of  our  planetary  system  is  the  sun  as  merely 
blind  and  heavy ;  the  same  body  is  the  diacosmical 
center  also,  but  as  the  luminous  eye,  or  as  radio- 
active. The  solar  character  is  indeed  double:  as  a 
source  of  gravitation  it  attracts  all  to  itself,  then 
it  turns  about  and  repels  all,  even  itself,  radiating 
its  own  illumination  far  into  the  starry  depths  of 
the  Cosmosphere,  certainly  beyond  its  own  imme- 
diate system.  The  Sun,  accordingly,  acts  both  a 
cosmical  and  diacosmical  part  in  one  colossal  mani- 
festation; it  is  the  synthesis  of  these  two  sides  or 
stages  of  total  Nature.  It  reveals  the  unity  as 
well  as  the  separation  of  the  entire  Heliosphere  of 
which  it  is  not  only  the  spatial  center  but  the  pro- 
ducing cause.  As  far  as  it  goes,  it  may  be  deemed 
the  active  Ego  of  its  system,  though  it  lacks  as 
yet  the  completed  self-return,  of  which  it  is  the  ra- 
diant prophecy.  So  we  can  hardly  think  the  Sun 
as  self-conscious,  though  on  Nature's  road  thereto, 
flashing  thitherward  as  if  in  a  mighty  aspiration. 
Nor  can  we  conceive  the  sun  be  alive  though  the 
fostering  nurse  of  all  life  on  our  planet. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Diacosmos  taken  by  itself, 


THE  DIACOSMOS.  365 

means  universal  dissolution,  and  that  it  has  im- 
parted to  the  scientific  mind  of  to-day  its  own 
character.  The  cosmical  attraction  of  Matter  is 
reversed,  its  dissociation  and  disintegration  are  ra- 
diated back  from  our  system  into  the  Cosmosphere 
whence  this  energy  originally  came,  but  with  an 
opposite  tendency  which  was  to  coalesce  in  cohe- 
sion and  to  join  in  a  systemic  order.  Whether  the 
Cosmosphere  itself  is  undergoing  the  same  dissolu- 
tion, cannot  yet  be  told;  we  know  not  yet  its  con- 
ditions or  limits  against  other  Cosmospheres  if 
there  be  such.  Hut  the  likelihood  is  that  it  pos- 
sesses certain  j^owers  of  recuperation  of  which  we 
have  noticed  a  possible  instance  in  the  regenera- 
tive round  of  a  stellar  system  (see  preceding  pp. 
275-9) .  Indeed  the  All  cannot  be  thought  as  per- 
ishing or  perishable ;  if  it  be  doing  its  undoing,  it 
must  also  be  undoing  its  doing,  or  negating  its 
own  negation. 

It  would  seem,  however,  that  total  Nature,  the 
all-inclusive^  must  show  a  limit,  indicating  that  it 
(Nature)  is  not  self-dependent,  not  self-generating, 
not  completely  self-determined,  but  has  to  go  out- 
side of  itself  for  its  final  determination.  Nature, 
then,  reveals  itself  to  be  not  the  Totality,  but  a 
stage  or  a  part  of  the  one  psychical,  or  rather 
the  pampsychical.  All.  This  limitation  of  itself 
it  must  show  both  in  its  entirety  and  in  its  parts; 
or,  to  repeat  what  has  been  already  said.  Nat- 
ure manifests  itself  as  dialectical,  both  as  a  whole 


366  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

and  in  its  particulars.  Scientists  say  that  the 
Planets  start  with  a  given  motion  from  the  Helio- 
sphere;  but  the  latter  is  also  affirmed  to  have 
had  an  original  push  from  the  Cosmosphere,  which 
in  turn  required  a  send-off,  perchance  the  primor- 
dial one  of  total  Nature.  Now  this  Nature  shows 
through  and  through,  from  largest  to  smallest, 
the  original  ejection  or  separation  of  itself  from 
the  universal  Self  (Pampsychosis) ;  ultimately  it 
comes  not  from  itself  but  from  another;  it  is  not 
self-determined  but  outwardly  determined.  Such 
is  the  limit  which  Nature  always  manifests,  ex- 
ternally and  internally.  Still  just  in  this  character 
we  have  to  consider  it  as  an  inherent  member  or 
necessary  stage  of  the  universal  Self. 

The  earliest  elemental  forms  of  Nature,  Space 
and  Time,  the  holders  of  the  Cosmos  so  to  speak, 
show,  through  the  impossibility  of  limiting  them 
within  themselves,  that  they  have  their  limit  in 
their  opposite,  in  that  which  limits  itself  within 
itself,  namely  Ego,  Self.  That  is,  the  limit  of 
Space  and  Time  cannot  be  spatial,  or  temporal, 
they  are  always  transcending  it  if  once  posited;  in 
this  sense  they  are  often  said  to  be  infinite  (limit- 
transcending)  .  Certain  is  it  also  that  they,  as  de- 
rived, are  limited  by  their  source  externally,  and 
subject  internally  to  all  sorts  of  limits.  So  Space 
and  Time  primordially  reveal  Nature's  duahsm,  be- 
ing both  infinite  and  finite,  either  of  which  can  be 
easily  pointed  out  in  them.    The  Diacosmos  will 


i 


THE  DIACOSMOS.  367 

show  this  same  character  of  Nature  in  a  new  and 
more  in'tense  way;  as  second  stage  of  the  physical 
totality  it  is  divisive,  and  keeps  dividing  to  infinity 
even  Nature  itself,  so  that  the  atom  in  one  shape 
or  other  becomes  fundamental  in  the  diacosmical 
world. 

The  Diacosmos,  in  the  present  organization  of 
Nature,  lies  between  the  mechanical  or  gravita- 
tional order  (Cosmos)  and  the  self-active,  self- 
moving  order  of  life  (Biocosmos).  We, may  con- 
ceive it  as  the  great  unloosening  of  the  fixed  phys- 
ical world — it  turns  Cohesion  into  Dishesion,  Grav- 
itation into  Degravitation,  Composition  (chemical) 
into  Decomposition.  It  has  its  own  distinctive 
process,  which  has  been  already  indicated,  but 
which  we  may  here  briefly  repeat : 

(I)     The  Diacosmos  as  molecular. 
(II)     The  Diacosmos  as  radiant. 

(Ill)  The  Diacosmos  as  elemental  chemically 
or  atomic. 

The  great  diversity  of  the  subject  covers  up 
with  details  the  lines  of  its  order;  indeed  the  dia- 
cosmical act  in  itself  is  inclined  to  be  repellent  of 
any  fixed  organization,  being  such  an  unloosener 
of  things.  Still  here,  too,  the  process  can  be  seen 
and  unfolded. 


368  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 

THE  MOLECULAR   DIACOSMOS. 

The  conception  of  the  molecule  becomes  now  im- 
portant. We  have  already  had  it  in  the  cohesive 
Body,  which  is  often  said  to  be  composed  of  mole- 
cules. But  these  are  not  yet  really  distinct  or 
separated;  they  still  cohere'.  This  form  of  the 
molecule  is  cosmic  rather  than  diacosmic.  When, 
however,  a  force  such  as  heat  gets  inside  the  co- 
hesive Body  and  begins  to  drive  it  asunder,  the 
molecules  are  separating,  and  become  more  and 
more  individualized.  At  this  point,  accordingly, 
the  Diacosmos  distinctively  starts  in  its  first  stage 
which  may  be  called  the  molecular. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  aforesaid  separative 
force  still  remains  outside  the  molecule  though  in- 
side the  body.  From  this  point  of  view  it  acts 
mechanically  and  can  be  measured.  But  later  we 
shall  observe  in  Chemism  the  force  getting  inside 
the  molecule,  which  is  separated  in  its  turn  and  is 
shown  to  be  composed  of  atoms.  Some  distin- 
guished chemists  have  held  that  the  atom,  too  is 
divided  by  anew  chemical  energy;  but  that  view 
must  not  detain  us  now.  The  best  way  is  to  dis- 
tinguish the  three  different  ways  wherein  Force, 
which  is  a  form  of  Motion,  works  upon  three  dif- 
ferent forms  of  Matter.     (1)  A  particle  of  Matter  is 


THE  MOLECULAR  DIACOSMOS.  369 

a  fragment  of  a  body  which  has  been  broken ;  its 
separation  is  external  and  quantitative,  and  it 
maintains  cohesion.  (2)  A  molecule  is  an  inner 
qualitative  division  which  assails  cohesion,  and 
separates  a  body  into  its  constituents  (not  into  its 
elements).  (3)  An  atom  is  an  elemental  division, 
and  implies  the  separation  of  the  molecule  into  its 
chemical  elements. 

So  we  distinguish  the  particle,  the  molecule 
and  the  atom;  force  drives  the  first  one  from  the 
outside,  but  drives  the  two  latter  from  the  inside, 
and  so  these  belong  properly  to  the  Diacosmos. 
The  atom  indeed  goes  back  and  atomizes  both  the 
particle  and  the  molecule,  for  they  also  have  their 
chemical  character,  which  is  indeed  elemental. 

In  the  cosmical  realm  we  saw  the  body  in  a  free 
unobstructed  motion  round  the  central  Sun;  or  we 
may  say .  that  Motion  controlled  Matter  in  the 
sweep  of  the  planets.  But  each  molecule  of  the 
planetary  body  was  subjected  to  the  might  of  co- 
hesion. Now  in  the  diacosmical  realm  the  tyran- 
nous power  of  cohesion  is  broken,  and  the  molecule 
is  liberated  from  what  may  be  deemed  its  servi- 
tude by  a  stronger  counteractive  energy.  Its 
forceful  liberator  breaks  its  chains  and  gives  to  it 
a  new  individuality  which  is  soon  seen  asserting 
itself,  and  transcending  its  limits.  Particularly 
the  molecules  of  a  gas  show  an  aggressive  individ- 
uality b}^  their  expansion.  A  kind  of  liberation  we 
may  well  see  in  this  molecular  society,  as  it  opens 

24 


370  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

its  career  in  the  Diacosinos,  which  thus  becomes 
relatively  a  world  of  free  molecules,  getting  more 
and  more  emancipated  from  the  cosmical  servitude 
of  cohesion. 

The  result  is  a  decided  transformation  of  mate- 
rial body,  both  externally  and  internally.  This 
metamorphosis  is  usually  deemed  threefold — solid, 
liquid,  gaseous.  Nature  has  furnished  instances  in 
the  so-called  elements — earth,  water,  air.  More- 
over one  of  these  elements,  the  liquid,  manifests 
all  three  forms  through  molecular  changes,  becom- 
ing ice,  water,  steam.  This  is  the  work  of  heat, 
through  which  water  as  having  a  neutral  character 
by  nature,  is  easily  influenced.  Water  with  its  easy- 
going molecules,  quite  indifferent  to  one  another, 
and  uncohesive  at  ordinary  temperatures,  is  the 
least  refractory  of  forms  of  Matter.  Air,  on  the 
contrary,  by  strong  pressure  can  be  brought  to  be 
a  liquid,  perchance  a  solid.  A  metamorphic  power 
thus  lies  in  the  molecule,  it  is  the  Proteus  of  the 
Diacosmos. 

Motion,  the  Separating  with  which  Nature  starts 
in  the  Cosmos,  at  first  works  upon  corporeal  Mat- 
ter externally  without  assailing  its  cohesive  indi- 
viduality. But  now  Motion  is  seen  at  work  within 
the  material  body  and  drives  it  asunder  internally, 
constitutionally  we  may  say,  transforming  it  and 
endowing  it  with  new  characteristics.  Ice  and 
steam  are  the  same  substance  but  show  very  differ- 
ent forms  and  different  traits. 


THE  MOLECULAR  DLACOSMOS.  371 

But  what  drives  these  fluids  asunder?  What 
gets  between  their  molecules  pushing  them  apart 
and  raying  them  out  in  opposition  to  inertia,  cohe- 
sion and  gravitation?  It  has  been  called  simply 
force  or  energy.  Still,  we  ask,  what  kind  of 
force?  A  form  of  that  radio-activity  which  must 
be  considered  as  the  fundamental  property  of 
the  Diacosmos.  We  learn  that  all  Matter  is 
radio-active  and  has  the  tendency  to  emanate. 
The  new  element  radium  has  introduced  this 
idea  of  the  material  world.  Motion,  the  Sepa- 
rating, has  gotten  inside  of  body  and  is  rending  it 
and  exploding  it,  even  dematerializing  it,  as  the 
claim  is  now  sometimes  made. 

We  have  called  this  sphere  the  Molecular  Diacos- 
mos, looking  at  it  under  one  aspect.  From  another 
point  of  view  we  may  regard  it  as  the  fluid  world, 
its  category  being  now  fluidity.  Such  a  property 
naturally  springs  from  the  foregoing  separated  or 
uncohesive  molecules,  which  even  when  massed 
are  quite  outside  of  one  another  and  move  easily 
asunder.  It  should  be  here  noted  that  we  make  a 
distinction  between  fluid  and  liquid,  though  ordi- 
narily they  have  quite  the  same  meaning.  Fluid 
we  shall  employ  as  the  general  term  for  the  entire 
sphere,  while  li(iuid  is  a  particular  form  or  stage 
of  it.  Fluidity,  accordingly,  means  hardly  more 
than  the  simple  direct  dishesion  of  matter,  which 
is  supposed  to  have  its  limit  at  the  molecule. 
There  is  no  attempt  in  the  present  sphere  to  get 


372  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

back  of  this  molecular  separation,  and  to  find 
what  produced  it;  we  take  it  as  it  is  immediately 
before  us,  or  as  it  is  supposed  to  be  in  the  case  of 
ether.  Later  (in  the  radiants)  we  shall  delve  into 
the  grounds  of  such  a  state  of  Matter. 

Here,  then,  we  are  to  forecast  in  brief  outline  the 
movement  of  the  molecular  or  fluid  Diacosmos, 
which  will  show  the  following  three  stages: 

(I)  The  Fluid  in  its  molecular  indifference,  or 
the  Liquid,  whose  common  example  is  water. 

(II)  The  Fluid  in  its  molecular  separation,  or 
the  expansion  of  the  Gas,  whose  common  example 
is  the  air,  with  its  limited  expansibility. 

(III)  The  Fluid  as  universal,  or  conjecturally  so 
— the  Ether,  with  its  supposed  absolute  expansi- 
bility. 

The  three  sections  in  which  the  Fluid  as  a  whole 
is  treated  will  be  named  simply  the  Liquid,  the 
Gas,  the  Ether.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  they  show 
a  process  together:  the  unseparated  (indifferent), 
then  the  separated  or  self-expansive  as  limited  and 
particular,  finally  the  self-expansive  made  uni- 
versal (in  theory)  and  hence  self-undoing,  wherein 
Hes  the  conception  of  a  return  to  the  Liquid, 
which  is  not  self-expansive.  Such  is,  in  abstract 
outhne,  the  movement  of  the  Fluid,  which  the  fol- 
lowing details  will  serve  to  illustrate  more  con- 
cretely. 


THE  LIQUID.  373 


The  Liquid. 

'  As  already  indicated,  the  Liquid  is  but  one  kind 
of  Fluid,  under  which  general  term  we  place  also 
the  Gas  and  the  Ether.  All  Fluids  have  the  com- 
mon characteristic  of  molecular  mobility, consequent 
upon  a  loosening  of  cohesion.  The  fluid  mole- 
cules, however,  persist  in  the  present  stage  of  the 
Diacosmos;  not  till  we  come  to  Chemism  are  they 
assailed  and  dissolved  into  their  atomic  elements. 
In  the  solid  body  there  is  what  may  be  called  a 
cohesive  individuality,  which  can  indeed  be  sepa- 
rated from  the  outside  as  when  a  bar  of  iron  is 
broken  in  two.  But  a  Fluid  cannot  be  broken  in 
that  way;  its  molecules  are  already  separated  in 
themselves  and  so  can  be  put  together  again  just 
as  they  were  by  mere  contact.  In  the  structure 
of  the  Fluid,  therefore,  the  molecules  are  more  or 
less  indifferent  to  one  another;  each  has  gotten 
outside  of  the  other  and  stays  there;  consequently 
the  individuality  of  the  molecule  is  emphasized 
rather  than  that  of  the  total  body ;  the  molecule 
now  resists  cohesion  and  asserts  itself.  This  shows 
distinctly  its  separative,  diacosmical  character. 
Dishesion  we  may  designate  this  tendency  in  con- 
trast with  cohesion,  which  is  a  might  over  the  in- 
dividual molecules  forcing  thorn  tightly  together; 
a  tyrant  perchance  we  may  call  this  cohesion,  sup- 


374  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

pressing  molecular  independence  which  at  present 
seems  the  aspiration  of  Matter  as  of  Man. 

That  which  differentiates  the  special  Liquid  from 
the  next  Fluid  is  its  non-elasticity,  its  unexpansi- 
bility.  Compared  to  the  Gas.  for  instance,  the 
liquid  molecule  cannot  be  lessened  or  increased, 
compressed  or  expanded.  It  asserts  stolidly  its 
own  individuality  in  both  directions.  It  persists 
stoutly  in  remaining  just  what  it  is  against  all  ex- 
ternal power.  Moreover  the  liquid  molecule, 
though  always  in  contact,  is  not  very  soeiable 
with  its  neighbors,  who  are,  however,  just  like  it. 
In  fact  liquidity  and  likewise  all  fluidity  is  a  kind 
of  dissociation  of  Matter,  a  loosening  of  its  bonds. 
From  this  point  of  view  the  Liquid  as  a  whole  is 
very  penetrable;  its  molecules  are  so  indifferent 
that  they  let  anything  come  between  them  me- 
chanically. But  individually  they  are  altogether 
impenetrable.  A  splinter  of  wood  thrust  into  a 
cup  of  water  never  gets  inside  an  aqueous  mole- 
cule but  it  very  easily  passes  outside,  for  this  mole- 
cule cares  nothing  for  its  next  neighbor.  Very 
different  is  the  furious  resistance  offered  to  the  in- 
truder by  the  associated  (or  cohesive)  molecules  of 
a  piece  of  iron.  At  the  same  time  if  the  solid  be 
broken,  the  structure  itself  is  destroyed  along  the 
line  of  cleavage,  and  will  not  unite  again;  the  very 
molecules  seem  broken  in  their  power  of  associa- 
tion. But  the  Liquid  has  no  such  power,  its  mole- 
cules are  inclined  to  stand  alone,  they  are  indi- 
viduated. 


THE  LIQUID.  375 

To  be  sure  Liquids  differ  much  in  their  molecu- 
lar mobility,  as  well  as  in  their  inter-molecular 
character.  Some  Liquids  through  their  viscosity 
approach  a  solid;  a  jelly,  for  instance,  will  retain 
its  corporeal  form.  But  in  general  the  molecular 
indifference  of  the  Liquid  is  such  that  it  requires  a 
vessel  or  some  holder  to  keep  it  together ;  other- 
wise the  molecules  will  run  awa}'  from  one  another, 
each  seeking  the  .nearest  point  in  line  with  the 
center  of  the  earth.  Each  molecule  thus  asserts 
itself  a  complete  body  by  itself,  with  its  own  par- 
ticular gravity.  We  may  deem  it  a  kind  of  ulti- 
mate clement  in  this  fluid  stage  of  the  Diacosmos, 
not  a  chemical  element,  of  course.  It  is  nearly 
irreducible  by  pressure,  though  not  quite,  as  may 
be  seen  in  Oersted's  table  of  liquid  compressibility; 
alcoholic  ether,,  for  instance,  is  twice  as  compres- 
sible as  water,  while  the  liquid  metal  mercury  is 
but  one-thirteenth.  Each  Liquid  has,  therefore, 
its  own  degree  of  resistance  to  external  pressure; 
but  it  at  once  resumes  its  former  volume  when  the 
pressure  is  removed.  The  Liquid  can  be  made  to 
yield  just  a  little,  but  it  returns  to  itself  as  soon 
as  it  can,  re-asserting  itself  we  may  say. 

Water  we  may  take  as  the  typical  Liquid,  whose 
character  is  deserving  of  our  best  study.  Chem- 
ically it  is  known  to  be  composed  of  two  gases, 
hydrogen  and  oxygen;  but  nobody  could  tell  any- 
thing of  its  form  or  nature  from  its  composition. 
It  is  the  most  universal    of  Licpids  and  may  be 


376  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

deemed  the  base  of  nearly  all  of  them,  though  it  is 
not  a  chemically  elemental  Licjuid  like  mercury. 
Still  it  has  been  long  called  an  element,  one  of 
Nature's  own,  being  endowed  with  a  unique  indi- 
viduality. In  antiquity  it  inspired  the  earliest 
philosopher,  Milesian  Thales,  who  regarded  it  as 
the  principle  of  all  things,  or  as  the  essence  of 
being.  Through  its  very  indifference  it  can  and 
does  become  many  things,  especially  entering  into 
life.  It  is  the  unformed  which  is  to  be  formed;  it 
takes  shape  or  body  from  the  outside,  through  its 
holder;  still  it  seeks  form  and  clings  to  the  same, 
for  instance  in  capillarity.  That  water  wets 
an  object  has  a  meaning:  it  clings  to  something 
which  it  has  not  but  strives  for,  and  the  drop  falls 
down  only  when  it  has  another  drop  for  its  sup- 
port. Thus  water  shows  itself  indifferent  to  itself, 
being  just  the  medium  of  indifference,  which  takes 
everything's  part  but  its  own.  Neutral  in  itself 
and  to  itself  it  can  be  without  bias,  and  enter  into 
the  special  works  of  Nature  impartially,  we  might 
almost  say  .sympathetical]3^  Strictly  it  has  no 
taste,  no  smell,  no  color,  no  shape,  no  cohesion,  no 
resistance  if  taken  aright;  yet  it  easily  becomes  a 
medium  for  all  these  properties.  As  the  first  sub- 
stance of  the  Diacosmos,  it  is  the  implicit  poten- 
tial stage,  the  possibility  of  future  shapes,  bearing 
in  its  bosom  the  seeds  of  things;  it  is  passive  till 
its  molecule  is  reached,  when  there  is  strong  self- 
assertion.     If  a  board  strikes  on  its   flat  side  the 


THE  LIQUID.  Zll 

surface  of  water,  it  assails  many  molecules  at  once 
and  ine6ts  a  common  resistance ;  but  a  little  push 
will  easily  separate  the  same  molecules,  as  they  are 
not  really  combined. 

Undoubtedly  water  is  negative  to  cohesion,  and 
will  dissolve  many  bodies,  holding  them  in  solu- 
tion, but  not  disturbing  them  chemically,  though 
it  often  gives  the  chemical  process  a  good  chance 
to  act.  Enormous  is  the  quantity  of  this  Liquid  on 
our  planet,  being  its  chief  medium  of  exchange; 
water  is  also  a  mediator  between  earth  and  sky,  as 
well  as  between  lands.  To  our  terrestrial  temper- 
ature water  is  peculiarly  adjusted,  to  heat  and  cold; 
above  the  limit  it  loses  its  liquidity  and  becomes 
vapor,  below  the  limit  it  shows  the  same  loss  but 
becomes  solid  as  ice.  Water  probably  originated 
when  the  earth  had  cooled  off  to  its  present  very 
limited  range  of  temperature,  and  helped  to  bring 
forth  its  life.  But  the  most  striking  adjustment 
is  that  water  contracts  from  the  boiling  point  tilj 
39  degrees  Fahrenheit,  then  with  the  increasing 
cold  it  expands  till  it  becomes  ice,  which  is  hghter 
than  its  own  liquid.  Thus  from  a  certain  point  of 
temperature  it  expands  both  through  heat  and 
through  cold ;  water  shows  a  peculiar  control  over 
heat  and  cold,  making  both  of  them  contradict 
themselves;  it  causes  heat  to  contract  and  then  to 
expand  its  molecules  (from  below  upward),  or  it 
causes  cold  to  do  the  same  thing  (from  above 
downward) .     This  peculiar  exception  to  an  other- 


378  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

wise  general  law  of  Nature  is  often  cited  as  an  in- 
stance of  providential  design,  since  ice,  being 
lighter  than  water,  protects  it  in  winter  and  pre- 
vents lakes  and  streams  from  freezing  to  the  bot- 
tom and  thus  becoming  a  solid  mass  of  ice.  At 
any  rate  it  shows  the  strong  endowment  of  the 
aqueous  molecule  that  it  contracts  or  expands  with 
heat  according  to  its  own  law,  and  not  according 
to  the  general  law  of  heat.  A  few  other  substan- 
ces show  the  same  exception,  notably  the  metal 
bismuth.  What  we  have  called  self-assertion  of 
the  molecule  of  water  with  its  defiance  of  the  old 
law,  may  be  regarded  as  the  overture  of  the  Dia- 
cosmos,  which  we  have  already  seen  running  coun- 
ter to  the  previous  mechanical  principles  of  inertia, 
of  cohesion,  of  gravitation.  Still  under  these  seem- 
ing violations  we  are  to  find  the  new  order  which 
also  has  its  law. 

Accordingly  we  have  first  to  investigate  the  dia- 
cosmical  process  of  the  Liquid,  properly  the  first 
manifestation  of  the  present  sphere.  Here  we  shall 
find  three  significant  stages  which  we  may  formu- 
late as  follows : 

(I)  Molecular  Attraction  of  the  Liquid — differ- 
ent from,  and  in  some  respects  opposite  to,  the 
previous  cosmical  attraction.     . 

(II)  Molecular  Resistance  (Repulsion)  of  the 
Liquid — which  has  also  its  peculiar  ways  of  mani- 
festation. 

(III)  Molecular    Gravitation    of   the   Liquid — 


THE  LIQUID.  379 

wherein  it  is  seen  in  its  terrestrial  relation.  This 
last  stage  overcomes  the  separation  of  the  second 
stage  (Resistance)  and  goes  back  to  the  first  (At- 
traction) which  it  underlies.  That  is,  all  molecular 
diremption  is  finally  dominated  and  ordered  by  the 
earth's  power. 

The  reader  will  note  that  these  three  categories 
of  the  Hquid  Diacosmos  show  a  decided  similitude 
to  those  given  generally  to  Matter  (see  preceding 
pp.  92-101),  of  which  we  are  now  to  consider  a 
new  particular  manifestation. 

I.  Molecular  Attraction  of  the  Liquid. 
The  primal  fact  of  the  Liquid  is  its  tendency  to 
separate  into  molecules,  each  of  which  has  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  independence.  Each  may  be  con- 
ceived as  a  kind  of  pellet,  exceedingly  small,  with 
its  own  center  and  its  own  individuality.  It  holds 
itself  together  mightily,  but  turns  away  from  all 
the  rest  of  its  kind ;  this  gives  its  divisive  charac- 
ter— molecular  separation,  and  also  molecular  mo- 
bilility,  for  each  pellet  seems  to  roll  upon  and 
around  the  contiguous  pellets  without  entering 
them.  But  as  there  is  this  outer  separation  and 
even  repulsion  of  one  from  the  other,  so  on  the 
other  hand  each  molecule  is  bound  into  unity  by 
an  inner  attraction  which  makes  it  almost  imper- 
vious to  any  external  impress  from  one  of  its  kind. 
We  might  say  that  the  outer  m/er-molecular  cohe- 
sion of  the  solid  has  been  transferred  to  the  inner 
infra-molecular  cohesion  of  the  Liquid,  and  that  we 


380  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

have  passed  over  the  bridge  from  the  Cosmos  to 
the  Diacosmos.  Thus  we  begin  to  think  that  the 
molecule  taken  by  itself  is  a  system  of  attraction — 
a  thought  which  will  have  a  future.  Now  this  at- 
traction of  the  liquid  molecule  within  itself  is  the 
immediate  fact  which  is  first  to  be  considered. 
Such  an  attraction  seems  to  show  a  kind  of  volun- 
tary molecular  activity;  the  molecule  spheres 
itself;  it  diffuses  itself  freely,  it  raises  itself  up 
along  a  solid  of  its  own  inner  bent.  It  is  to  be 
noted  again  that  these  three  phases  of  molecular 
attraction  are  in  opposition  to  gravitation,  and 
thus  diacosmical. 

1.  Spherular  Attraction.  By  this  is  meant  the 
tendency  of  a  free  Liquid  like  water  to  take  the 
form  of  a  spherule  in  a  small  mass.  The  rain  drop 
and  the  dewdrop  ball  themselves  of  their  own 
force;  they  are  much  larger  than  a  molecule  of 
water,  but  they  reveal  its  existence  and  its  power, 
as  well  as  a  certain  limit  placed  upon  it.  The  me- 
tallic liquid,  mercury,  shows  the  same  trait  more 
decisively  with  its  divisibility  into  smaller  and 
smaller  spherules.  Molten  lead  poured  through  a 
seive  from  the  top  of  a  tower  can  be  made  to  take 
various  spherical  sizes  while  falling  to  the  ground. 
Free  motion  imparts  individuality,  and  the  round 
world  gives  of  its  rotundity.  The  planets  circling 
freely  through  space  take  the  same  form.  The 
molecule  is,  accordingly,  conceived  generally  to 
be  spherical,  having  its  own  center  of  attraction. 


THE  LIQUID.  381 

2.  Diffusion  of  Liquids.  This  is  twofold  and 
starts  with  separation,  but  shows  it  overcome. 
Two  different  liquids — for  instance  a  solution  of 
copper  sulphate  and  water — will  at  first  assume  two 
different  layers  in  a  vessel  one  being  heavier  than 
the  other.  But  they  at  once  begin  to  intermingle 
and  will  soon  form  a  uniform  Liquid  in  opposition 
to  gravitation,  the  heavier  one  rising  and  the 
lighter  one  falling.  This  is  essentially  the  same  as 
diosmose  in  animal  and  vegetable  life.  Water  as 
the  molecular  medium  performs  its  function  of  me- 
diating the  side  which  has  something,  with  the 
other  which  has  not.  This  is  owing  to  the  free 
movement  of  the  individual  molecules.  There  are, 
however,  liquids  which  do  not  mingle,  whose  mole- 
cules draw  a  line  of  permanent  division  between 
the  two  hostile  sides,  as  do  oil  and  water.  In  this 
case  the  separation  remains.  But  both  the  antag- 
onists will  show  a  common  trait  in  the  fohowing. 

3.  Capillary  Attraction.  When  a  Liquid  is  placed 
in  contact  with  a  solid,  the  molecules  of  the  hquid 
rise  up  the  side  of  the  solid  and  adhere  to  it  for  a 
perceptible  distance  above  the  surface  of  the  liquid. 
If  a  tube  be  used  with  a  very  small  bore,  the  rise 
in  it  is  still  greater.  We  behold  here  again  a  kind 
of  cohesion  between  solid  and  liquid  in  opposition 
to  gravity.  But  when  the  liquid  has  to  adhere  to 
itself,  it  drops  back  into  obedience  to  gravity;  we 
behold  the  molecules  of  the  li(]uid  seeking  the 
molecules  of  the  soHd,  but  indifferent  to  its  own 


382  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

molecules.  It  strives  to  separate  the  cohesion  of 
the  solid  and  to  mediate  it  with  something  else, 
the  liquid  and  especially  water  being  the  great 
go-betweens  of  Nature.  Capillarity  shows  that 
the  liquid  molecules  have  a  greater  attraction  for 
the  solid  than  for  one  another.  Still  they  have 
also  in  themselves  as  individuals  a  decided  resist- 
ance to  the  solid. 

II.  Molecular  Resistance  of  Liquids.  We 
have  noted  the  molecular  attraction  of  the  Liquid 
for  the  solid;  similar  attraction  was  inside  the 
molecule.  Equally  emphatic  is  the  resistance  of 
liquid  molecules  under  certain  conditions.  The 
tendency  to  sphericity  may  be  interpreted  as  an 
inner  gathering  of  force  for  any  emergency.  The 
formation  of  the  globule  hints  a  process  of  individ- 
uation ;  it  thus  forms  itself,  makes  a  body,  which 
the  solid  '^.annot  do.  The  impact  upon  the  Liquid 
as  a  mass  reveals  its  power  of  resistance,  its  strong 
self-assertion.  It  seems  to  have  the  ability  to 
unite  all  its  separate  molecules  against  a  sudden 
assault,  as  when  a  fiat  surface  smites  the  water. 
Here  again  rises  a  phase  of  the  impact  of  bodies 
which  has  its  place  also  in  the  Cosmos  (see  preced- 
ing pp.  188-215).  And  again  we  shall  observe  es- 
sentially the  same  movement:  Impact  by  pres- 
sure, Impact  transmitted.  Impact  as  mechanical 
or  multiphed  by  mechanical  devices.  All  this  now 
pertains  to  Liquids. 

1.    Pressure.    When  a  Liquid  such  as  water  is 


THE  LIQUID.  383 

subjected  to  pressure  in  a  strong  vessel,  it  is  found 
to  be  quite  unyielding.  Water  was  thought  to  be 
incompressible  till  Oersted,  in  1823,  found  that  the 
weight  of  one  atmosphere  would  reduce  its  volume 
one  part  in  twenty  thousand.  The  pressure  being 
removed,  each  molecule  would  resume  its  former 
size,  and  was  as  indifferent  to  the  rest  as  before. 
The  pressure,  however,  made  them  all  resist  in 
common,  though  it  ditl  not  unite  them  in  a  perma- 
nent bond,  which  would  indeed  destroy  their 
liquidity.  We  have,  therefore,  to  conceive  each 
molecule  fighting  for  itself  against  the  common  foe 
without  much  mutuality.  Being  restrained  from 
the  outside,  it  will  associate  with  its  kind  a  little, 
just  enough  to  produce  resistance  of  the  Liquid 
under  pressure,  which  can  be  measured.  Such  is 
the  first  or  immediate  phase  of  molecular  resist- 
ance of  the  Liquid. 

2.  Transmission  oj  Pressure.  Though  the  mole- 
cules of  the  Li({uid  ar(>  nearly  incompressible,  they 
have  a  remarkable  power  of  conveying  pressure,  of 
passing  it  on  to  tlie  next  till  the  end  of  the  line. 
Here  is  the  field  of  Pascal's  law,  whose  statement 
is  that  pressure  upon  a  Liquid  is  transmitted  in  all 
directions,  and  acts  at  right  angles  to  the  surface 
of  the  containing  vessel — ^iip,  down,  right,  left. 
Thus  the  molecules  form  lines  of  transmission  of 
pressure  running  through  the  liquid  every  way  to 
the  surfaces  exposed  to  this  Liquid.  Lateral  pres- 
sure is  shown  bv  the  interesting  contrivance  called 


384  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Barker's  Mill.  If  the  pressure  of  the  Liquid  is  re- 
lieved on  the  one  side  by  an  aperture,  it  pushes 
in  the  opposite  direction  and  will  drive  a  wheel, 
whirligig,  etc.  This  principle  of  pressure  is  inde- 
pendent of  the  shape  of  the  containing  vessel;  the 
molecule  will  always  receive  and  transmit  the  im- 
pact to  what  lies  next.  It  follows  from  the  pre- 
ceding law  that  upward  pressure  works  in  the 
same  way  as  downward  pressure.  From  every 
molecule  springs  an  all-sided  resistance  to  any  re- 
straint of  its  free  liquidity. 

3.  Pressure  Mechanically  Multiplied.  Pressure 
cannot  only  be  transmitted  along  every  line  of 
molecules  in  every  direction,  but  it  can  be  indefi- 
nitely multipHed.  It  has  been  noticed  that  a 
small  column  of  water  balances  a  large  one  when 
the  two  are  connected,  as  in  the  spout  and  body 
of  a  coffee-pot.  If  pressure  be  exerted  upon  a 
small  colunm,  this  will  exert  a  force  upon  the  large 
column  great  in  proportion  to  its  size.  A  line  of 
molecules  will  thus  impart  and  repeat  its  own 
force  to  many  lines  of  molecules,  each  of  which 
gets  not  merely  its  share  but  the  entire  pressure. 
It  gives  its  all  to  each.  Hence  the  surprising 
power  exerted  by  a  small  column  of  water,  say  30 
feet  high  (as  in  Pascal's  famous  experiment)  which 
will  burst  a  stout  cask  into  which  it  is  poured. 

Thus  molecular  resistance  to  pressure  may  be 
made  to  come  back  to  itself  by  transmitting  it 
through  other  molecules,  with  a  vast  increase  of 


THE  LIQUID.  385 

power.  A  resistance  to  a  pressure  of  ten  pounds 
can  be  converted  into  a  resistance  to  a  pressure  of 
ten  thousand  pounds  by  a  hydraulic  machine. 
Thus  the  pressure  of  ten  pounds  will  equilibrate 
itself  a  thousand  fold  through  a  mechanical  device 
which  is  analogous  to  the  lever.  There  is  the 
downward  pressure  (P)  which  is  directed  through 
a  small  column  of  water  into  a  large  column  which 
is  pushed  upward  against  the  resisting  body  or 
weight  (W)  which  is  to  be  moved  (see  preceding 
pp.  201-9) .  Each  molecule  may  be  deemed  a  kind  of 
fulcrum  (F)  which  turns  the  first  pressure  (P) 
against  the  second  pressure  (W) ,  or  we  may  say 
which  converts  the  first  resistance  into  the  second 
with  a  great  multiplication  of  force.  This  multi- 
plication is  the  peculiarity  of  the  hydraulic  ma- 
chine; the  simple  lever  can  change  time  and  space 
into  power;  but  a  molecule  directly  imparts  its 
received  power  as  a  whole  to  the  adjoining  mole- 
cules; one  unit  of  energy  in  thus  converted  into 
ten  or  a  thousand  through  molecular  pressure. 

Such,  then,  is  molecular  resistance  received, 
transmitted,  and  multiplied  by  a  machine.  The 
free  individual  molecule  of  the  Diacosmos  in  this 
way  shows  itself  to  possess  a'  different  character 
from  the  unfree  cohesive  molecule  of  the  Cosmos, 
which  has  seemingly  no  such  power  of  self-asser- 
tion and  self-impartation.  But  underneath  this 
somewhat  independent  molecular  action  lies  a 
deeper  might  which  determines  it,  namely,  that  of 

25 


386  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

the  earth,  for  the  molecules  also  must  at  last 
gravitate  to  the  common  center. 

III.  Molecular  Gravitation  of  Liquids.  The 
Molecules  of  the  Liquid  have  weight  and  obey  the 
law  of  gravitation;  they  arrange  themselves  in  a 
vertical  line  toward  the  middle  of  the  earth.  The 
soHd  with  its  cohesive  molecules  has  its  weight 
concentrated  in  one  point  called  its  center  of  grav- 
ity. But  the  liquid  molecules  through  their  lack 
of  cohesion,  unless  confined  somehow,  cannot  be 
said  to  have  such  a  common  central  point  as  has 
the  solid,  but  each  molecule  has  its  own  center  and 
obeys  the  law  of  gravitation  for  itself,  rolling  to- 
ward the  same  by  the  shortest  way.  And  in  a 
vertical  line  of  liquid  molecules  the  lowest  one  has 
to  bear  the  weight  of  all  above  it,  as  we  have  ob- 
served in  their  molecular  pressure.  But  in  the 
solid  the  molecules  do  not  independently  transmit 
pressure,  but  rather  as  one  body  which  conveys  its 
power  as  a  whole,  and  receives  resistance  as  a 
whole  till  broken. 

The  Liquid  then  manifests  molecular  gravita- 
tion, which  assumes  first  its  immediate  form  of 
equilibrium;  then  this  equihbrium  is  assailed  and 
undulation  of  the  Liquid  takes  place  with  return 
to  equilibrium  through  gravitation;  finally  this 
molecular  gravitation  of  the  Liquid  (usually  water) 
is  made  the  unit  of  measure  by  which  the  gravi- 
tative  character  (weight)  of  all  substances  is  meas- 
ured and  compared. 


THE  LIQUID.  387 

1.  Equilibrium  of  Liquids.  .In  a  liquid  mass 
the  lines  of  molecules  assume  a  vertical  direction 
toward  the  earth's  center,  while  the  surface  of  the 
same  mass  at  rest  is  horizontal  to  these  molecular 
lines,  one  being  at  right  angles  to  the  other.  If 
the  surface  is  disturbed  it  seeks  to  regain  its  equi- 
distance from  the  earth's  center,  which  is  called  its 
level  or  equilibrium,  and  is  the  result  of  gravita- 
tion. That  is,  wh(>n  the  surface  of  a  Licjuid  makes 
a  right  angle  with  the  earth's  radius,  it  is  equili- 
brated by  gravitation.  This  holds,  however,  only 
for  relatively  small  distances,  large  bodies  of  water 
show  a  curved  surface  drawn  by  the  earth's  radius, 
in  accord  with  gravitation;  the  terrestrial  center 
may  in  a  sense  be  said  to  radiate  the  equihbrium  of 
Liquids  on  the  terrestrial  surface. 

2.  Undulation  of  Liquids.  We  must  next  see 
the  equilibrium  of  the  Liquid  broken  up  by  some 
outside  blow,  whereby  it  enters  upon  its  separa- 
tive phase  which  shows  it  in  a  new  character.  The 
assault  upon  the  Liquid  calls  forth  a  response  from 
it  which  makes  explicit  certain  traits  quite  impli- 
cit in  its  previous  quiescent  state  of  equilibrium — 
traits  which  gather  about  one  main  fact,  that  of 
undulation,  which  is  a  kind  of  separation  ever  re- 
peating itself  in  the  mobile   molecules  of  the  fluid. 

The  conception  of  the  wave  has  come  to  play  a 
great  part  in  the  Diacosmos,  as  we  shall  often  see 
later.  Its  starting-point  may  be  deemed  the  un- 
dulation of  the   liquid,  especially   of  the  typical 


388  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

liquid,  water.  The  wave  is  a  disturbance  of  the 
equilibrium  of  its  molecules;  particularly  the  sur- 
face is  broken  up  from  its  level  which  results  from 
its  settled  adjustment  through  gravitation.  The 
result  is  a  peculiar  balancing  or  tetering  of  these 
liquid  molecules,  which  have  the  capacity  to  con- 
ve}^  energy,  though  they  do  not  convey  themselves 
unless  propelled  by  an  outside  power.  If  in  the 
middle  of  a  quiet  pool  a  pebble  be  cast,  we  ob- 
serve a  series  of  concentric  wavelets  moving  out- 
ward to  the  shore.  Furthermore,  each  wavelet  has 
in  itself  an  up-and-down  movement,  or  oscillation, 
which  continues  after  the  first  crest  has  passed, 
but  grows  less  and  less  till  it  gradually  settles  back 
into  equilibrium.  This  undulating  oscillation  be- 
comes a  kind  of  vibratory  molecule  in  large, 
which  communicates  the  motion  which  it  has 
received  without  moving  -forward  itself.  If  we 
scatter  bits  of  wood  over  the  surface  of  the  pool, 
we  shall  see  them  bobbing  up  and  down  mainly  in 
the  same  spot,  and  not  being  borne  on  the  crest  to 
the  shore. 

The  liquid  wave,  therefore,  moves  within  itself 
in  a  kind  of  rotation  upon  its  own  axis,  this  is 
called  strictly  its  vibration.  At  the  same  time  it 
reproduces  itself,  its  own  form  and  movement  in 
the  adjacent  Hquid  molecules;  this  is  its  communica- 
tion of  motion  and  of  force,  which  passes  on  out- 
ward to  the  edge  of  the  pool.  The  third  fact  is 
that  this  line  of  motion  radiating  from  the  center 


THE  LIQUID.  389 

of  disturbance  in  every  direction  cuts  these  vi- 
brating waves  across  at  right  angles,  that  is  trans- 
versely; the  transmitted  motion  is  transverse  to 
the  wave  in  its  tetering  or  oscillation.  There 
are  two  motions  here  which  must  not  be  con- 
fused: the  rotatory  and  the  imparted;  the  im- 
parted motions  are  ordinarily  called  transverse  vi- 
brations and  are  separated  spatially  and  tempo- 
rally. 

This  fact  becomes  important  since  the  same 
kind  of  Motion  is  supposed  to  be  that  of  the  Ether, 
which  heroin  resembles  the  Li(]uid.  Heat,  Light, 
and  Electricity  arc  or  perchance-  produce  trans- 
verse vibrations  in  the  Ether;  that  is,  a  transitional 
motion  or  force  radiates  outward  though  generating 
etheric  undulations.  The  air-wave  is  different.  The 
wave-length  is  measured  from  crest  to  crest  or 
from  trough  to  trough  (really  wave-breadth),  and 
may  be  rapid  or  slow  according  to  the  radial 
force. 

It  is  evident  that  in  the  undulation  we  see  the 
Liquid  repeating  what  has  already  been  observed 
in  the  solid.  At  a  number  of  points  the  up-and- 
down  of  the  wave  suggests  the*  oscillating  Body 
(see  preceding  p.  226);  it  is  a  fluid  pendulum  vi- 
brating in  a  fluid  and  reproducing  itself  vibrating. 
But  the  oscillation  of  the  free  mobile  material  is  sup- 
plemented by  rotation,  even  by  the  spherical  form 
vvhich  rotates  and  easily  throws  off  other  liquid 
spheres  which  also  undulate.     Such   a  movement 


390  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

of  the  sea-wave  is  said  to  have  been  first  set  forth  by 
Gerstner,  who  propounded  that  ''its  particles  move 
in  circular  orbits"  (at  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century).  This  fruitful  idea  must  be  carried  out 
to  the  conception  of  self-propagation  through  ro- 
tation, many  instances  of  which  we  have  seen  in 
the  motions  of  the  Cosmos  (see  account  of  the  Ro- 
tating Body  as  solid  on  preceding  pp.  233-42).  It 
would  seem,  then,  that  in  the  undulating  process 
of  the  Liquid  we  behold  again  rotation,  radiation, 
reproduction  of  rotating  bodies  with  some  sort  of 
orbital  movement.  If  this  be  so  (for  the  subject 
has  by  no  means  yet  been  developed  by  physicists) 
the  action  of  the  wave  of  the  pond  is  a  limited  sort 
of  world-making,  as  this  has  been  already  unfolded 
in  the  Systemic  Cosmos.  Each  molecule  may  be 
deemed  a  little  planet  in  its  liquid  state  throwing 
off  satellites.  Later  we  shall  see  that  the  physical 
science  of  today  is  inclined  to  regard  the  atom  as  a 
small  Solar  System  with  its  revolving  orbs.  In  gen- 
eral the  struggle  between  Gravitation  and  Rotation 
takes  a  new  form  in  the  undulation  of  the  Liquid. 
Undulation  has  the  tendency  to  return  to  equi- 
librium, to  the  level  surface  under  the  influence  of 
gravitation.  Besides  there  is  the  so-called  surface 
tension  of  the  Liquid  which  has  its  strain  upon  the 
agitated  waves.  But  the  molecules  of  a  Liquid 
are  not  elastic  and  transmit  motion  directly  in 
wave-lines.  Every  undulation  strives  to  regain 
the   line  of  gravity  with  the  earth's  center.     The 


THE  LIQUID.  391 

wave-movement  proceeds  transversely,  though 
always  being  pulled  downward  by  the  earth's  at- 
traction. Undulation,  accordingly,  starts  with  a 
disturbance  of  the  equilibrium  of  a  Liquid,  pro- 
ceeds to  impart  this  disturbance  in  wave-forms, 
and  ends  in  a  return  to  equilibrium  through  gravi- 
tation. Liquid  molecules,  are,  therefore,  heavy, 
as  are  all  molecules;  how  can  they  be  weighed? 
Too  small  for  a  pair  of  scales  they  must  somehow 
be  measured. 

3.    Specific  Gravity.     The  definition  of  a  famous 
physicist  may   be  first  set  down.     "The   specific 
gravity  of  a  body  is  the  ratio  of  its  density  to  that 
of  some  standard    substance,    generally    water" 
(Clerk-Maxwell  on  Heat) .     According  to  this  con- 
ception it  is  the  measure  of  the  densities  of  mate- 
rial bodies;  one  of  these  bodies  as  standard  meas- 
ures  all   the   rest.     This  standard   usually  is  dis- 
tilled water  at  its  densest   (heaviest)    temperature 
(39.2  degrees  Fahrenheit  or  4  degrees  Centigrade). 
Or  Specific  Gravity  tells  the  comparative  weights 
of  the  same  volume  (say  a  cubic  inch)  of  different 
substances.     The  weight  of  a  cubic   inch  of  water 
being    taken    as   the  measurer    (our   licjuid  yard- 
stick), platinum  weighs  22+  times  as  much,  lead 
1L35  times  as  much    (platinum  compared  to  lead 
is  nearly  twice  as  heavy),  amber  1.07  (barely  sink- 
ing in  water);  mercury,    which   is   licpiid,  weighs 
13.0  times  as  much  as  water,  the   standard  liquid. 
Thus  bodies   filling  the   sauK;   space  are  found  to 


392  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

have  a  scale  of  very  different  weights  or  degrees  of 
gravity. 

Specific  Gravity  is  essentially  a  measurement  of 
molecular  attraction,  the  molecules  being  deemed 
of  the  same  volume.  A  molecule  of  platinum 
gravitates  earthward  with  much  greater  force  than 
a  molecule  of  lead;  the  measurer  water  is  to  give 
the  exact  quantum  of  this  force  (twice  as  great  ac- 
cording to  the  ordinary  tables  of  Specific  Gravi- 
ties). A  metal  weighed  in  water  displaces  just  its 
own  bulk,  and  is  found  to  weigh  exactly  so  much 
the  less.  A  metal  weighed  in  air  may  be  directly 
compared  in  weight  with  another  metal  so  weighed. 
But  there  can  be  in  this  way  no  measurement  of 
their  relative  molecular  weights,  which  require  the 
third  as  basis  of  comparison.  Immediate  weight 
of  bulk  as  bulk  is  cosmical,  specific  weight  is  dia- 
cosmical,  since  the  molecule  is  weighed  and  com- 
pared. 

The  Specific  Gravity  of  gold  is  19  +  that  of  silver 
10+  an  alloy  of  equal  parts  of  the  two  would  be 
nearly  15  (times  the  same  volume  of  water).  It  is 
evident  that  Specific  Gravity  can  be  made  the  test 
of  the  purity  of  metal.  This  was  the  principle  dis- 
covered by  Archimedes,  who  was  required  (accord- 
ing to  the  story)  by  the  king  of  Syracuse  to  find 
out  whether  the  royal  crown  of  gold  had  been  al- 
loyed by  the  goldsmith  who  made  it. 

Here  we  conclude  the  third  stage  of  the  Liquid, 
which  we   call  its   Molecular    Gravitation,  whose 


THE  GAS.  393 

main  i)ha8cs  wc  have  seen  to  be  Equilibrium,  Un- 
dulation, and  Specific  Gravity.  Moreover,  the 
first  part  of  the  Molecular  or  Fluid  Diacosmos  has 
come  to  an  end. 

II. 

The  Gas. 

We  are  compelled  to  use  the  word  gas  in  its  gen- 
eral sense,  including  vapor  and  air  as  well  as  its 
own  special  form.  It  is  a  fluid  of  which  probably 
the  most  characteristic  property  is  its  elasticity  or 
expansibilit5^  On  the  v/hole  a  Gas  may  be  called 
an  elastic  Fluid.  It  differs  primarily  from  the 
Liquid  through  its  molecular  dilatation;  it  is  sepa- 
rative in  its  molecularity  which  the  Liquid  is  not, 
or  is  but  slightly ;  water  when  it  becomes  really  ex- 
panded and  expansible  turns  into  a  gas  or  vapor; 
in  its  ordinary  state  its  molecules  resist  both  com- 
pression and  expansion,  while  the  Gas  herein  is 
quite  the  reverse.  The  latter  seeks  to  get  beyond 
itself,  pushing  out  its  bounds  more  and  more  till 
the  last  degree  of  tenuity,  as  in  the  case  of  atmos- 
pheric air. 

So  it  comes  that  the  Gas  shows  the  second  or 
separative  stage  in  the  total  process  of  fluidity  as 
here  conceived.  It  is  not  indifferent  to  itself  like 
water,  but  is  by  nature  self-repcUent ;  it  thus  must 
be  regarded  as  in  a  state  of  perpetual  separation 
from  itself.  Still  it  is  heavy  and  at  last  yields  to 
gravitation,  or  is  properly   yielding  all  the  time; 


394  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMO^. 

hence  it  belongs  to  the  first  or  fluid  stage  of  the 
Diacosmos.  Through  its  cxpansibiHty  the  Gas 
manifests  its  opposition  to  the  cosmical  attraction 
of  the  earth,  which,  however,  finally  overcomes  it 
after  many  a  rebound  extending  in  the  case  of  the 
atmosphere  far  upward  into  space.  The  Gas,  ac- 
cordingly, shows  in  its  native  activity  the  unceas- 
ing fight  between  Diacosmos  and  Cosmos. 

The  Gas  has  properly  no  surface  since  this  is 
perpetually  being  broken  up  through  the  ever- 
struggling  gaseous  expansibility.  The  surface  of 
the  Liquid  comes  to  equiUbrium  and  rest  through 
obedience  to  gravitation ;  the  Gas  is  not  so  submis- 
sive, but  repels  such  attraction  as  long  as  it  can, 
to  the  last  moment,  we  may  say.  Volume  the 
Gas  cannot  be  said  in  strictness  to  have,  as  its  in- 
herent tendency  is  to  break  across  the  fixed  limit 
put  upon  it  in  any  way;  though  rarified  more  and 
more  it  strives  to  spread  out  more  and  more.  This 
is  made  visible  by  the  expansion  of  a  bladder  filled 
with  Gas  and  placed  under  the  receiver  of  an  air- 
pump;  the  completer  the  vacuum,  the  greater  the 
distension.  Still  the  other  side  must  not  be  left 
out:  the  Gas,  though  essentially  without  fixed  sur- 
face or  volume,  and  always  aspiring  heavenward, 
has  notwithstanding  weight,  is  continually  being 
drawn  the  other  way,  namely  eartliward.  Such  is 
its  inner  diacosmical  duahsm  manifested  in  the 
salient  quality  of  the  Gas. 

It   should  also   be  noted   that  the   Gas  has  no 


THE  GAS.  395 

shape  of  its  own  like  the  sohd,  and  does  not  take 
the  shape  of  the  containing  vessel  like  the  liquid ; 
it  can  be  only  brought  to  shape  by  a  complete  en- 
closure which  produces  pressure  against  its  ever- 
expanding  molecules.  Like  the  liquid  it  may  be 
called  formless,  but  it  is  something  more;  it  ac- 
tively resists  form  (which  the  true  liquid  does  not), 
it  resents  limitation  and  will  burst  its  restraincr  if 
it  can.  The  Gas  shows  itself  as  imprisoned  when 
condemned  to  be  put  into  a  form,  and  aspires  for 
liberation.  This  is  again  the  result  of  that  deepest 
trait  of  Gas,  expansibility. 

There  is  some  question  about  the  gi-ound  or 
source  of  gaseous  cxpansibilit}'.  We  may  deem 
the  primal  tension  to  be  molec^ilar  as  well  as  inter- 
molecular;  it  seems  to  reside  in  the  molecules  as 
well  as  between  the  molecules.  And  here  we  must 
note  a  difficulty  in  construing  for  thought  this  en- 
tire realm  of  Gases:  can  the  idea  of  the  molecule 
be  properly  applied  to  them?  They  form  so  many 
and  such  extended  mixtures  that  their  character 
seems  to  be  miscible  rather  than  chemically  com- 
posiblo  and  decomposible,  nor  do  they  seem  much 
inclined  to  hold  foreign  matters  in  solution,  as  do 
liquids, andesjiecially  water.  Gases  mix ext(>rnally 
rather  than  unite  internally  l)y  affinity;  this  lies 
also,  we  have  to  think,  in  th(>ir  rebounding,  recal- 
citrant character  already  described.  But  the  unit 
or  particle  of  such  a  mixture — can  it  be  I'ightly 
called  a  molecule  which  is  usually  deemed  a  chem- 


396  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

ically  united  compound  of  different  atoms,  as  in 
the  case  of  water?  If  so,  its  common  meaning 
must  be  widened. 

The  number  of  Gases  recounted  in  chemistry  is 
somewhat  formidable.  There  is  a  group  of  ele- 
mental Gases  well  known:  oxygen,  hydrogen, 
nitrogen,  chlorine.  A  much  obscurer  group  has 
been  quite  recently  discovered:  argon,  neon, 
xenon,  er^qoton,  and  the  gaseous  emanation  he- 
lium. These  new  gases  seem  to  be  the  extreme  ex- 
amples of  the  gaseous  character;  they  only  mix 
and  persistently  refuse  to  form  a  chemical  union 
with  any  other  Gas  or  substance  whatsoever.  In 
the  language  of  the  chemist,  they  are  inert  of  com- 
bination, and  as  far.as  yet  tested,  they  cannot  be 
made  to  reveal,  by  heat,  electricity  or  other  phys- 
ical compulsion,  any  lurking  affinity  for  the  rest 
of  the  elements  or  their  compounds.  The  isola- 
tion of  these  Gases  is  thus  unique  and  manifests  in 
its  last  potence  the  resilient,  refractory  trait  of  the 
gaseous  character. 

As  there  is  a  typical  Liquid,  water,  so  there  is  a 
typical  Gas  or  elastic  fluid,,  namely  atmospheric 
air.  Anciently  this  was  likewise  deemed  an  ele- 
ment, one  of  the  famous  four,  and  was  made  a 
principle  of  philosophy  apparently  by  the  old 
Greek  philosopher,  Anaximander.  Though  we 
shall  find  it  to  be  a  mixture  of  elements  and  some- 
times of  compounds  in  the  gaseous  form,  it  has  its 
own  distinct  individuality,  as  well  as  its  separate, 


THE  GAS.  397 

very  important  place  in  Nature.  So  significant  of 
the  wh'ole  domain  is  it  that  the  Gas  is  often  named 
an  aeriform  fluid.  So  we  shall  give  some  brief  con- 
siderations to  air  by  itself,  as  the  one  gaseous 
character  after  which  the  rest  more  or  less  closely 
are  patterned.  It  represents  the  Gas  not  only  by 
its  expansive  nature,  but  it  is  also  internally  dual, 
being  itself  a  Gas  made  up  of  two  Gases  (and 
sometimes  more)  not  combined,  but  separate,  as 
we  shall  see  later.  Thus  it  emphatically  shows  the 
separation  of  the  Gas  as  the  second  stage  of  the 
total  sphere  of  the  fluid  Diacosmos. 

Air,  then,  is  not  a  chemical  compound  but  a 
mixture  of  two  Gases,  chiefly  oxygen  and  nitro- 
gen— by  weight  23  parts  of  the  first  to  77  of  the 
second,  by  volume  nearly  in  the  relation  of  one- 
fifth  oxygen  to  four-fifths  nitrogen.  The  general 
relation  of  these  two  elemental  gases  is  that  oxy- 
gen is  a  very  active  principle,  an  assailant  of  all 
bodies,  a  consumer,  a  destroyer;  but  that  nitro- 
gen is  more  a  passive  principle,  a  restrainer,  a 
damper  upon  the  furious  energy  of  its  ever-present 
associate,  though  antagonist.  Foes  to  each  other 
they  may  be  regarded,  yei  twinned  together  in  the 
smallest  particle  of  air;  significant  it  is  that  man 
and  all  animate  Nature  must  inhale  with  every 
breath  such  a  war  of  two  opposing  elements  that 
he  may  live.  In  pure  oxygen  he  would  burn  up 
inwardly.  In  the  air  are  often  found  other  assail- 
ing gases,  also  other  inert  elements  besides  nitro- 


398  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

gen,  as  argon;  so  our  air  in  its  very  constitution,  is 
the  seat  of  a  continuous  elemental  struggle,  which 
we  take  up  in  the  breath  of  life.  Man,  therefore, 
breathes  conflict  and  lives  by  it  literally. 

It  is  evident  that  air,  compared  to  water  is  sep- 
arative, dual,  self-divided  and  even  self-assailing. 
Water  is  a  chemical  compound  with  strong  affinity 
between  its  constituents;  no  such  elemental  antag- 
onism like  that  of  air  does  it  manifest,  rather  the 
opposite.  Both  water  and  air  may  be  taken  as 
pairs,  which  are  in  their  ways  sexed,  yea  are  mar- 
ried; but  the  two  of  water  are  happily  united  in 
love,  while  the  two  of  air  arc  indeed  interlocked  in 
a  kind  of  wedlock,  yet  in  an  everlasting  quarrel. 
Water  is  unquestionably  hostile  to  cohesion  of 
body,  and  dissolves  the  same  if  it  can;  still  it 
holds  the  dissolved  particles  hospitably,  or  me- 
chanically we  say,  in  solution,  quite  unchanged. 
Air  is  more  vicious  in  its  assault  upon  body,  seek- 
ing to  decompose  it,  even  to  burn  it  up.  Air  is  a 
slow  fire,  it  not  only  feeds  combustion  but  is  com- 
bustion, and  can  be  made  to  show  its  fiery  temper. 
Well  known  is  the  experiment  of  condensing  air 
till  it  becomes  a  spark  which  sets  on  fire  a  piece  of 
punk.  The  act  of  compressing  air  concentrates  its 
expansive,  naturally  dilated  nature  into  a  point 
which  becomes  suddenly  luminous  in  a  flash;  the 
inner  character  of  air  reveals  itself  for  a  moment 
in  that  scintilla.  Light  and  Heat  lurk  in  its  bosom, 
as  well  as  the  som'ce  of  fire,  that  Promethean  spark 


THE  GAS.  399 

which  was  fabled  to  have  been  stolen  from  heaven. 
Air  may  become  fire,  and  fire  returns  to  air  with 
the  products  of  its  combustion ;  so  we  note  here  a 
small  cycle  of  elemental  energies. 

Oxygen  is  common  to  both  water  and  air;  it 
may  be  deemed  their  interlinking  Gas,  though  it 
has  such  a  different  character  in  the  two  fluids. 
Chemically  united  with  hydrogen,  its  negative 
might  becomes  quite  neutralized  and  forms  what  we 
may  call  the  neutral  liquid,  water,  whose  every 
molecule  is  so  happy  in  its  home  or  so  complete 
in  itself  that  it  cares  little  or  nothing  for  its  mole- 
cular neighbor  who,  however,  is  just  like  it.  ^'ery 
different  is  the  conduct  of  oxygen  when  tied  me- 
chanically to  nitrogen,  whose  inert  passive  char- 
acter it  detests  but  cannot  get  rid  of.  No  divorce, 
however,  is  allowed  in  that  aerial  domain;  the 
couple  have  to  dwell  together  in  the  smallest  tene- 
ment, namely  in  the  molecule  or  particle  of  which 
the  whole  circumambient  atmosphere  is  built  many 
miles  high. 

Air  we  may  designate  as  heterogeneous  both  in 
composition  and  character,  while  water  is  homo- 
geneous. Air  like  water  is  a  medium  and  a  fluid; 
it  has  properly  no  taste,  no  smell  (though  the 
bearer  of  all  smells),  no  visible  body,  even  if  it  be 
heavy.  Its  mediating  power  is  subtler  than  that 
of  water  and  harder  to  get  hold  of;  the  marine 
ship  has  long  been,  but  the  aerial  ship  has  not  yet 
arrived,  though  it  seems  to  be  coming  in  sight  just 


400  COSMOS   AND  DIACOSMOS. 

now.     Air  also  has  its  waves  whicii  convey  sound 
and  which  have  a  special  sense  in  man  and  animal 
for    their    right    reception;    air   waves    probably 
evolved  the  ear  in  the  course  of  the  teons. 

It  is  also  noteworthy  that  these  two  typical 
Fluids,  water  and  air,  hint  a  kind  of  universality 
in  their  terrestrial  relations;  both  of  them  form 
vast  circumambient  oceans  (even  if  limited)  which 
embrace  our  earth  and  feed  all  life.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  man  arose  in  and  from  the  water, 
and  passed  thence  to  his  finer  habitation  in  the 
air,  from  which  he  is  to  remove  to  his  j^et  more 
etherial  future  home.  In  such  a  "case  the  human 
being  is  still  going  through  his  fluid  evolution,  liv- 
ing now  mainly  in  its  second  stage,  the  air,  having 
risen  out  of  his  aqueous  abode,  but  not  having  yet 
attained  his  etherial  dwelling-place. 

Dropping  these  remote  speculations  we  come  to 
the  problem  of  organizing  this  present  si)here,  that 
of  the  Gas,  which  has  been  developed  by  special- 
ists in  no  little  detail,  whereof  only  small  notice 
can  here  be  taken.  In  general  outline,  however, 
the  process  of  the  Gas  will  be  cjuite  similar  to  that  of 
the  Liquid;  both  Fluids  have  a  common  move- 
ment and  character  in  the  molecule,  though  this 
takes  a  different  form  in  each.  The  Gas,  accord- 
ingly, shows  first  its  immediate  molecular  char- 
acter; then  its  molecular  resistance,  inner  and 
outer,  or  its  stage  of  separation ;  finally  its  mole- 
cular gravitation,   or  its   return  out  of  resistance 


THE  GAS.  401 

and  expansion  to  a  unity  with  the  earth's  attrac- 
tion. 

I.  Molecular  Character  of  Gases.  The  mole- 
cule of  the  Gas  through  its  expansibility  has  no 
fixed  limit,  such  as  we  have  seen  in  the  molecule 
of  water,  but  is  endowed  with  a  kind  of  radiation 
(a  phase  of  the  diacosmical  radio-activity).  It 
drives  outward  toward  infinity,  not  only  formless 
but  form-destroying  both  in  itself  and  in  other 
bodies.  The  air  for  instance  is  a  corroder,  assail- 
ing the  bound  of  solids,  and  gnawing  at  it  slowly 
and  secretly  but  effectively  with  the  years ;  air  may 
be  deemed  the  tooth  of  Time,  which  tears  to  pieces 
the  finite  world.  It  is  the  bitter  if  hidden  foe  of 
material  finitude.  Water  dissolves  and  retains, 
air  dissolves  and  carries  off — in  which  act  we  can 
often  detect  it  by  one  of  our  senses,  that  of  smell. 
Here  may  be  mentioned  that  recent  science  has 
located  a  part  of  this  destructive  power  of  air  (and 
seemingly  of  other  Gases)  in  living  things,  micro- 
organisms, which  for  instance  assail  an  open 
wound  and  are  destroyed  by  the  so-called  anti- 
septic treatment.  In  general,  however,  we  have 
to  consider  the  Gas  in  this  aspect  as  the  double 
separator,  separating  p(>rpetually  from  itself  (ex- 
pansible) and  separating  corporeal  existence.  Such 
is  its  diacosmical  character;  it  countervails  inertia, 
cohesion,  gravitation.  On  the  other  hand  we 
should  not  fail  to  note  that  just  this  negative 
power  is  its  power  of  purification ;  it  assails  the  de- 

26 


402  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

structive  agencies  ever  working  in  the  physical 
world,  it  is  also  the  purifier  of  Nature's  finitude,  or 
at  least  of  a  part  of  it ;  in  fine  it  is  a  negation  of  a 
negative.  Nor  should  the  significant  trait  be  for- 
gotten that  air  has  the  gift  of  self-purification;  cur- 
ative of  others  it  must  be  able  to  cure  itself;  it,  too, 
is  material,  finite,  often  inoculated  with  disease, 
which  it  has  to  heal.  What  does  it  do  with  its  va- 
ried contents?  That  secret  has  yet  to  be  largely 
told ;  but  it  shows  itself  able  to  get  rid  of  its  for- 
eign ingredients  gradually  and  to  return  to  its  na- 
tive composite  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen.  Such  is 
the  round  which  it  is  forever  making. 

1.  Spherules.  Though  the  periphery  of  the  gas- 
eous molecule  is  always  changing,  still  it  must  be 
conceived  as  an  ever-enlarging  spherule.  Herein 
is  its  basic  difference  from  the  liquid  molecule 
which  holds  so  rigidly  to  its  limits  in  space,  being 
nearly  incompressible  and  inexpansible.  From 
this  point  of  view  the  gaseous  molecule  is  decen- 
tral  or  radial;  it  has  a  tension  or  motion  outwards. 
Here  lies  the  chief  ground  for  the  so-called  kinetic 
theory  of  Gases  which  has  often  been  assailed  and 
often  defended  on  inadequate  grounds.  The  sim- 
plest (and  seemingly  most  gratuitous)  statement  of 
this  theory  is  that  of  Tait:  "the  particles  dart 
about  in  all  directions,"  while  Clerk-Maxwell  seems 
to  invoke  demons  to  account  for  such  molecular 
capers  (if  he  is  not  joking).  At  any  rate  we  have 
already  seen  rotatory  spheres  throwing  off  a  radial 


THE  GAS.  403 

energy  in  the  Cosmos,  and  the  spherule  might  do 
the  same,  with  a  result  if  not  the  same,  yet  not 
dissimilar. 

2.  Diffusion  of  Gases.  We  have  already  noticed 
the  diffusion  of  Liquids  within  certain  limits ;  still 
more  general  and  emphatic  is  the  diffusion  of 
Gases.  These,  through  their  expansibihty,  come 
together  and  mingle  in  all  parts  of  the  containing 
vessel.  This  was  shown  in  the  experiment  of  Ber- 
thollet  with  two  hollow  globes,  the  upper  of  which 
was  filled  with  the  lightest  Gas,  hydrogen,  and  the 
lower  with  carbonic  acid  Gas,  22  times  heavier. 
Thi'ough  stop-cocks  the  Gases  were  allowed  to 
mingle,  and  after  a  time  the  two  globes  were  found 
to  have  the  same  mixture  of  both  Gases.  The  dif- 
fusion will  take  place  also  through  a  porous  dia- 
phragm. Thus  two  Gases,  separated  in  mass,  if 
brought  together,  will  of  themselves  make  their 
massive  separation  molecular;  their  unit  is  the 
molecule  which  is  endowed  with  a  force  or 
sort  of  will  to  seek  its  own  kind.  Still  the  two 
molecules  remain  two,  not  combining  chemically; 
their  molecular  dualism  is  what  is  asserted  by 
diffusion. 

3.  Absorption.  Many  Liquids  have  the  power  of 
absorbing  certain  Gases  in  vaiying  degrees.  Water, 
for  instance,  will  absorb  one-fortieth  its  volume  of 
nitrogen,  but  729  times  its  volume  of  ammonia. 
This  absorption  is  proportional  to  pressure  and 
temperature;  also  the  same  Liquid  has  the  power 


404  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

of  absorbing  its  share  of  several  Gases  and  of  re- 
taining them  together  in  itself.  Thus  the  liquid 
molecule  seems  to  be  able  to  hold  in  its  own  fixity 
the  unfixed  molecules  of  Gases,  so  that  they  do  not 
expand,  or  expand  very  little.  The  one  appears 
to  attract  and  keep  the  other ;  in  this  phenomenon 
there  seems  to  be  something  analogous  to  capillary 
attraction,  by  which  the  solid  draws  and  retains 
the  liquid.  In  such  a  test  the  different  Gases  show 
a  great  difference  of  characters;  it  takes  for  in- 
stance 20  molecules  of  water  to  absorb  one  of  oxy- 
gen, but  these  20  molecules  of  water  will  absorb 
9,000  molecules  of  hydrochloric  acid,  and  toward 
double  as  much  ammonia. 

The  absorption  of  the  Gas  by  the  Liquid  may  be 
conceived  as  a  return  to  and  adoption  of  the  gas- 
eous molecule  (as  spherule)  by  the  liquid  molecule, 
so  that  the  latter  dominates  the  former,  stopping 
the  expansibility  of  the  one  in  the  fixity  of  the 
other.  Thus  Gas  when  absorbed  by  the  Liquid 
largely  loses  its  salient  trait,  and  assumes  that  of 
its  absorbent  in  this  regard.  Evidently  the  liquid 
molecule  by  a  kind  of  attraction  has  the  power  of 
curbing  the  expansion  of  the  gaseous  molecule. 
This  same  power  over  the  air  (Gas)  the  earth  will 
show  in  the  attraction  of  gravitation — a  subject  to 
be  considered  a  little  later.  In  the  present  stage 
we  took  the  molecule  as  a  whole;  next  we  are  to 
get  inside  of  it  and  see  its  inner  separation  and 
workings. 


THE  GAS.  405 

II.  Molecular  Resistance  of  Gases.  The 
counterpart  to  the  expansibility  of  Gases  is  their 
compressibility.  The  gaseous  molecule  is  a  bound- 
pusher  from  within ;  but  naturally  becomes  weaker 
and  more  compressible  from  without.  The  Gas, 
notably  the  air  is  easily  penetrable,  yet  is  very 
penetrating;  its  own  passive  separation  becomes 
also  very  active,  and  tears  liquid  as  well  as  solid 
asunder.  It  has  weight  yet  resists  (so  to  speak) 
its  own  weight,  with  a  rebound  which  sends  it  afar 
outward  in  all  directions.  Air  is  implicit  fire 
which  appears  in  it  when  compressed  to  a  point; 
that  is,  it  manifests  its  negative  consuming  en- 
ergy, which  must  be  deemed  its  ultimate  act  of 
self-defense  or  resistance.  It  changes  to  liquid  and 
to  solid,  which  may  also  be  taken  as  other  forms 
of  molecular  resistance,  which  the  air  assumes 
under  external  assault  or  pressure.  In  these  cases 
we  see  the  inner  dualism  of  the  Gas ;  it  yields  and 
then  resists,  or  perchance  doing  both  together; 
this  doubleness  undoubtedly  lies  in  the  gaseous 
molecule  itself. 

1.  Pressure.  The  greater  the  pressure,  the  less 
the  volume  of  the  Gas,  other  things  being  the 
same  (temperature  and  quantity) .  Such  is  Boyle's 
famous  law,  discovered  in  1662,  and  fourteen  years 
later  re-discovered  by  Mariotte,  untler  whose  name 
it  still  goes  in  France.  This  law  has  some  peculiar 
variations  which  render  it  not  quite  true,  even  if 
sufficiently  exact.     It  declares  that  the  density  of 


406  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS.     ' 

a  Gas  is  proportional  to  the  pressure,  indicating  the 
difference  between  the  gaseous  character  and  that 
of  the  Liquid,  which  is  ahnost  non-elastic  and  re- 
sists compression.  Boyle's  law  must  be  conceived 
to  apply  to  the  molecule  whose  expansion  is 
counteracted  and  turned  to  its  opposite  by  ex- 
ternal pressure,  yet  always  with  an  internal  re- 
sistance which  asserts  itself  when  the  pressure 
is  removed.  So  it  comes  that  through  the  med- 
ium of  the  gaseous  molecule  pressure  can  be  con- 
veyed. 

2,  Transmission  of  the  Pressure  of  Gases.  The 
external  pressure  upon  a  Gas  determines  its .  in- 
ternal pressure  outward,  which  is  readily  transmis- 
sible. The  molecular  resistance  pushes  in  all  di- 
rections for  an  outlet ;  the  gaseous  molecule  seeks 
space  for  its  suppressed  expansion,  while  the  liquid 
molecule  almost  unexpanded  conveys  its  resistance. 
Thus  the  gaseous  molecule  becomes  w^ithin  itself 
the  seat  of  struggle  between  the  inner  and  outer 
forces,  between  compression  and  expansion.  This 
inner  division  with  its  fight  is  hardly  found  in  the 
liquid  molecule.  Air  thus  shows  a  deeper  diremp- 
tion  within  itself  than  water,  which  has  no  such 
inner  self-separation  and  self-recovery,  as  it  trans- 
mits its  pressure  immediately.  But  the  molecule 
of  air  accepts  the  outer  pressure  and  transforms  it 
into  an  inner  pressure,  which  then  pushes  outward 
in  the  form  of  resistance,  and  this  can  become  a 
great  power  utilizable  by  man. 


THE  GAS.  407 

3.  Gaseous  Pressure  Directed  and  Multiplied. 
The  expansive  power  of  the  Gas,  or  its  pressure 
outward  must  be  confined  in  a  closed  vessel  which 
can  be  tapped  and  emit  the  molecular  energy. 
The  most  connnon  example  is  the  steam  boiler, 
which  can  be  heated.  Thus  th(^  machine  is  again 
employed  as  in  the  Liquid,  and  indeed  as  in  the 
Mechanical  Powers,  to  transfer,  to  distribute,  and 
to  apply  force  generated  outside  of  it.  In  the  case 
of  steam,  heat  is  used  to  expand  the  molecules, 
the  boiler  to  restrain  this  expansion  which  is  drawn 
off  by  a  pipe  and  directed  to  driving  the  engine. 
Thus  the  gas  machine  'transfers  one  resistance 
to  overcoming  another  of  a  very  different  sort, 
being  in  this  regard  comparable  to  the  hydraulic 
press.  But  the  gas  molecule  with  its  systole  and 
diastole  is  capable  of  a  far  wider  application 
than  the  rigid  licjuid  molecule,  which  has  no  such 
inner  contraction  and  dilatation  (like  a  little 
heart) . 

Molecular  resistance  may  be  supposed  to  have 
spent  itself  when  the  Gas  rushes  out  of  its  closed 
chamber  into  freedom,  and  takes  its  original  place 
in  the  terrestrial  adjustment.  The  throbbing 
molecule  (for  so  we  may  imagine  it  in  the  present 
sphere)  with  its  inner  contraction  and  dilatation 
has  escaped  fr.om  its  immediate  prison  whose  con- 
finement caused  all  the  jjulsations  of  its  litth^  heart, 
and  finds  itself  in  a  state  of  liberation.  But  even 
thus  it  is  not  free  to  roam  through  the  universe,  it 


408  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

discovers  a  new  restraint  upon  itself  whose  char- 
acter must  next  be  considered. 

III.  Molecular  Gravitation  of  Gases.  It  has 
been  ah-eady  stated  that  the  Gas  is  heavy,  and  thus 
has  finally  to  come  under  the  influence  of  gravita- 
tion, in  spite  of  its  expansibility,  whose  strength  we 
have  just  seen  and  measured.  But  this  molecular 
resistance  yields  at  last  to  its  antagonist  and  the 
Gas  gravitates  earthward  like  other  bodies — in 
which  act  it  reveals  new  phases  of  its  character. 
The  weight  of  100  cubic  inches  of  dry  air  at  an 
atmospheric  pressure  of  30  inches,  and  at  the  tem- 
perature of  16  degrees  Centigrade,  is  31  grains; 
carbonic  acid  gas  weighs  half  as  much  more,  and 
hydrogen  one-fifteenth  as  much.  Thus  we  may 
suppose  that  a  molecule  of  each  different  Gas  is 
drawn  differently  to  the  earth,  and  therein  reveals 
a  phase  of  its  individuality,  which,  recalcitrant 
though  it  be,  it  has  had  in  the  end  to  submit  to 
the  terrestrial  master.  That  the  air  is  heavy  or 
gravitates  is   strikingly  shown  by  the   air-pump. 

1.  Equilibrium.  The  great  scientific  act  in  the 
determination  of  atmosphere,  or  of  the  molecular 
gravitation  of  the  Gas  is  the  experiment  of  Tor- 
ricelli,  pupil  of  Galileo,  which  was  first  made  in 
1643.  This  was  to  equilibrate  a  column  of  air 
with  a  column  of  mercury  in  a  glass  tube  closed  at 
one  end  and  inverted  in  a  trough  of  mercury.  It 
was  found  that  30  inches  of  mercury  would  bal- 
ance the  entire   height  of  the  air.     The  weight  of 


THE  GAS.  409 

a  square  inch  of  mercury  30  inches  high  is  about  15 
poimds/ which  is  talcen  as  the  unit  of  measure  in 
this  reahn  and  is  called  an  atmosphere.  Pascal 
repeated  Torricelli's  experiment  with  water  in- 
stead of  mercury  and  found  that  it  rose  to  34  feet, 
or  thirteen  and  a  half  times  higher  than  mercury 
and  hence  that  it  was  so  much  lighter— a  fact 
which  could  be  tested  by  the  direct  weighing  of 
the  two  substances.  The  typical  Gas  is  now  meas- 
ured and  with  it  we  can  measure  other  Gases.  The 
well-known  bai'ometer  is  based  upon  the  Torri- 
cellian experiment. 

2.  Undulation.  The  equilibrium  of  the  Gas 
can  be  disturbed,  and  there  arises  the  undulation 
as  in  the  Liquid.  But  since  the  Gas  has  not  only 
the  mobility  of  the  Liquid  but  also  its  own  restless 
ever-stretching  expansibility,  its  undulating  char- 
acter is  far  more  decided  and  active  than  that  of 
the  Liquid.  Lideed  the  air  is  always  in  motion,  has 
to  be  on  account  of  its  innate  self-extension.  The 
winds  of  the  earth  never  stop  and  have  a  life  of  their 
own,  which  is  set  forth  in  meteorology.  But  the 
chief  disturbance  of  the  air  produces  what  is 
called  Sound,  which  is  sensed  by  a  special  organ, 
that  of  hearing.  The  undulation  of  the  stretched 
string  calls  up  by  analogy  the  oscillatory  move- 
ment of  the  pendulum,  and  also  of  the  Liquid. 
They  show  the  same  struggle  between  gravitation 
and  radiation  which  causes  the  whirl  of  the  sound- 
waves.   These,  however,  arc  propagated  not  trans- 


410  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

versely,  like  water-waves,  but  longitudinally,  along 
the  radial  line  from  the  center  of  disturbance,  by 
means  of  condensation  and  rarifaction ;  the  mole- 
cule propagates  its  contraction  and  expansion  or 
its  own  inner  process.  This  separation  within  (a 
kind  of  self-activity)  of  the  air  has  been  already 
noted  in  connection  with  the  transmission  of  aerial 
pressure,  which,  then  silent,  has  now  gotten  a 
voice,  and  utters  its  own  internal  movement. 
When  this  internal  movement  is  regular  and  peri- 
odic, we  enter  the  realm  of  the  distinctively  mu- 
sical sound,  which  has  the  power  of  stimulating  in 
the  mind  (or  Ego)  its  own  fundamental  process 
(or  Psychosis) .  Thus  the  outer  and  inner  (mental) 
movements  agree,  and  the  sound  is  called  accord- 
ingly agreeable.  Says  Helmholtz :  "The  sensation 
of  a  musical  tone  is  due  to  rapid  periodic  motion 
of  a  sonorous  body"  {Sensations  of  Tone  p.  8).  Mere 
noise  on  the  contrary  is  not  periodic. 

Moreover  sound  is  capable  of  reflection,  refrac- 
tion, reduplication  in  echo  and  resonance.  Thus 
the  sound-waves  will  show  their  analogy  to  the 
light-waves.  The  periodic  or  self-returning  tone 
can  be  organized  into  the  science  of  music  with  its 
melody  and  harmony.  This,  however,  wc  shall 
have  to  pass  over,  as  well  as  other  striking  details 
of  acoustics.  The  disturbance  of  the  air  which 
causes  undulation  has  a  tendency  to  gravitate 
toward  an  equilibrium,  even  if  this  be  imperfectly 
attained.     In  this  average  atmospheric    condition, 


THE  GAS.  411 

the  air  is  heavy  and  the  body  in  it  is  heavy,  both 
being  attracted  by  the  earth ;  is  there  any  compar- 
ative weighing  of  tliem,  such  as  we  observed  in 
the  case  of  Specific  Gravity? 

3.  Relative  Weight.  There  is  an  instrument 
called  the  baroscope,  whose  object  to  show  to  the 
vision  the  comparative  gravities  of  air  and  a  solid. 
A  thin  hollow  sphere  is  balanced  by  a  small  iron 
weight;  both  arc  i)ut  under  the  receiver  of  an  air 
pump,  when  the  sphere  descends,  showing  an  in- 
crease of  gravitation  in  comparison  with  the  ex- 
haustion of  the  air.  This  increase  can  be  meas- 
ured, whereby  it  is  shown  to  be  equal  to  the 
weight  of  the  displaced  air,  which  weight  the  small 
solid  loses.  Thus  the  principles  of  Archimedes,  who 
discovered  the  Specific  Gravity  of  the  solid  in 
water,  holds  true  of  the  solid  in  air;  that  is, 
a  body  immersed  in  a  Liquid  or  Gas  loses  weight 
in  proportion  to  the  weight  of  the  displaced  fluid. 
If  therefore,  a  body  be  so  constructed  that  it  dis- 
places its  own  weight  of  air,  it  begins  to  float;  if  it 
displaces  less  than  its  own  weight  of  air  it  will  rise 
upward. 

Upon  this  principle  air  navigation  depends,  as 
well  as  water  navigation.  To  utilize  the  aerial  as 
well  as  the  aqueous  ocean  for  human  inter-commu- 
nication is  felt  to  be  a  pressing  problem  of  the 
present  time  (1909).  Possibly  it  has  been  already 
solved,  but  we  are  all  eagerly  waiting  for  the  final 
evidence.     The   start  was  made  in  1783  at  Anno- 


412  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

nay,  France,  by  the  brothers  Montgolfier,  with  their 
balloon  filled  with  hot  air,  for  which  the  physicist 
Charles  substituted  hydrogen,  lightest  of  Gases, 
the  same  year  and  made  an  ascent.  Since  then 
many  forms  of  the  balloon  have  been  invented,  the 
chief  aim  being  the  adequately  dirigible  balloon. 
But  the  aeroplane  with  its  driving  machinery  will 
probably  be  the  air-ship  of  the  future. 

So  we  have  made  the  essential  round  of  the  Gas 
with  its  expansible  molecule,  which  still  gravitates 
in  spite  of  its  own  strong  resistance  to  gravitation. 
The  second  Fluid  thus  shows  its  inner  doubleness, 
its  rise  and  fall,  its  expansion  and  compression,  its 
degravitation  and  its  gravitation.  We  may  say 
that  the  diacosmical  principle  has  herein  mani- 
fested itself  intensely,  but  at  last  has  had  to  yield 
to  the  cosmical  principle.  The  question  rises:  Is 
there  a  Fluid  whose  expansion  is  not  finally  over- 
come, whose  gravitation  is  somehow  counterpoised 
by  degravitation?  Is  there  a  third  Fluid,  next  in 
order,  whose  molecular  equilibrium  is  not  of  the 
Earth  but  of  the  physical  All — the  balance  be- 
tween Cosmos  and  Diacosmos?  Science  has  felt 
itself  necessitated  to  adopt  such  a  Fluid,  though  as 
yet  speculative. 

This  Fluid  is  the  Ether.  If  we  consider  a  column 
of  air,  it  becomes  more  and  more  tenuous  as  it 
ascends  from  the  earth,  still  it  is  heavy  and  grav- 
itates. Each  molecule  may  be  regarded  as  the 
arena  of  a  continuous  struggle    between  attraction 


THE  GAS.  413 

and  the  expanding  resistance  to  it,  or  between 
gravitation  and  degravitation,  with  the  victory  of 
the  former.  Thinner  and  tliinner  becomes  the  air, 
and  weaker  its  molecules,  but  the  conflict  goes  on 
till  we  may  conceive  the  last  molecule,  surely  more 
than  a  hundred  miles  high,  in  its  ultimate  rarifica- 
tion.  This  molecule  still  is  heavy  and  gravitates, 
overcoming  all  its  expansion  and  degravitation. 
But  the  next  step  is  to  the  conception  of  a  fluid 
molecule  which  indeed  gravitates  but  also  degrav- 
itates  equally,  which  thus  cuts  loose  from  the 
earth  and  from  all  particular  bodies,  and  has  its 
own  independent  process  of  gravitation  and  de- 
gravitation  throughout  all  space.  Such  a  molecule 
may  well  be  deemed  the  universal  molecule,  pre- 
senting to  all  special  forms  of  matter  one  or  the 
other  side  of  itself.  For  instance  the  Sun,  attract- 
ing by  gravitation,  can  reach  the  attracted  body 
through  the  gravitating  side  of  the  etheric  mole- 
cule ;  on  the  other  hand  solar  degravitation,  such 
as  Heat  and  Light,  can  find  its  corresponding  me- 
dium in  the  degravitating  Ether. 

The  Newtonian  universal  gravitation  is  not 
strictly  universal,  but  particular,  and  takes  place 
between  particular  bodies.  Consider  the  stellar 
world ;  it  is  a  vast  reservoir  of  special  attractions 
going  out  from  every  star  in  every  direction. 
Gravitation  to  be  truly  universal,  must  be  of  the 
universal  body,  or  rather  of  the  universal  Matter, 
not   merely   of  the   particular   body.      This  uni- 


414  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

versal    principle    in  its  varied  aspects   we  shall 
next  take  up. 

III. 

The   Ether. 

We  have  now  come  to  a  hypothetical  Fluid,  a 
purely  speculative  entity,  but  getting  to  be,  if  it  is 
not  already,  the  central  subject  of  investigation  in 
physical  science.  It  has  never  been  isolated  as  a 
real  thing,  it  is  simply  an  inference  or  an  idea;  still 
physicists  are  saying  with  a  good  deal  of  unanim- 
ity that  they  believe  in  it  as  fully  as  in  their  own 
existence.  It  is  not  or  has  not  been  amenable  to 
direct  experiment,  and  thus  brings  the  scientific 
mind  to  challenge  one  of  its  fundamental  canons. 
Ether  is  the  supersensible  springing  from  and  cap- 
ping the  sensible.  Certainly  a  curious  sight  it  is 
to  behold  the  vast  army  of  scientists  cutting  loose 
from  the  world  palpable  and  taking  flight  to  a 
realm  impalpable,  which  cannot  be  seen,  heard, 
tasted,  smelt,  which  seems  to  be  invoking  a  new 
sense  for  its  examination.  Such  is  the  most  strik- 
ing psychical  fact  in  the  Natural  Science  of  the 
time;  it  is  getting  more  and  more  supernatural  in 
its  way,  while  violently  condemning  the  old  super- 
naturalism  ;  Physics  is  galloping  toward  Metaphys- 
ics, though  not  failing  to  hurl  curses  at  its  old 
foe  into  whose  domain  it  is  rushing. 

Ether,  then,  is  the  problem  of  the  Diacosmos; 
its  existence  at   present  is    seldom  doubted,  but 


THE  ETHER.  415 

its  chgiracter  is  under  the  fire  of  fierce  discus- 
sion. It  has  become  the  arena  of  every  diversity 
of  opinion,  which  has  free  play  for  exploitation, 
since  no  statement  of  this  realm  can  be  caught 
and  held  to  the  test  of  direct  experiment.  And 
still  one  cannot  help  feeling  that  this  confusion  is 
evolving  toward  order,  as  ancient  Chaos  did  in  the 
poem  of  Hesiod.  In  fact  Ether,  both  word  and 
thing,  seems  to  hover  over  the  whole  history  of 
science  from  the  beginning  down  to  the  present, 
in  a  sort  of  etherial  pillar  of  cloud,  very  elu- 
sive, but  very  i)ersistcnt.  The  old  Greek  phi- 
losopher, Anaximander,  of  Miletus,  appears  to 
have  first  thrown  out  the  thought,  as  well  as 
the  vocable,  in  his  search  for  the  ultimate  prin- 
])le  of  the  Universe,  which  he  held  to  be  aither 
(often  called  air).  Interesting  is  it  to  see  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  tampering  with  the  subtle  Fluid 
which  he  names  Ether.  The  law  of  gravitation 
he  found  and  formulated  as  all  the  world  knows; 
but  he  was  well  aware  of  a  something  lying  back 
of  gravitation,  a  medium  in  which  and  through 
which  it  acts.  Says  he  in  liis  famous  letter  to 
Boyle:  'T  will  suppose  Ether  to  consist  of  parts 
differing  from  one  another  in  subtlety  by  infinite 
degrees";  the  letter  runs  on  constructing  a  theory 
of  this  Ether,  by  which  he  might  be  able  to  ex- 
plain "the  cause  of  gravity."  But  Newton  never 
succeeded  in  putting  together  any  experi mental 
contrivance  with  which  he  might  grip  and  exam- 


416  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

ine  a  speck  of  this  infinitely  subtle  substance.  And 
that  wonder-working  mathematical  machine  of  his 
brain  could  never  quite  be  adjusted  so  as  to  meas- 
ure this  Ether.  Indeed  Newton,  as  all  now  see, 
was  precluded  by  his  corpuscular  theory  of  light, 
from  taking  the  first  step  in  finding  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Ether,  which  began  to  hint  a  little 
about  itself  in  Young's  experiments  showing  the 
undulation  of  light,  during  the  first  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Evidently  an  ''all-pervading 
Ether"  hovered  before  Newton's  mind  during  his 
whole  scientific  life,  as  a  kind  of  background  of 
the  phenomenal  world  which  he  was  unable  to  enter. 
In  fact  his  greatest  piece  of  work,  the  theory  of 
universal  gravitation,  necessarily  calls  up  such  a 
medium  as  its  originative  source.  For  Newton  did 
not  cling  to  the  belief  of  an  actio  in  distans,  though 
we  have  all  been  taught  so  in  our  school-days ;  he 
may  have  fluctuated  at  times.  Here  is  a  strong 
statement  in  one  of  his  moods  (third  letter  to 
Bentley) :  "That  one  body  may  act  upon  another 
at  a  distance,  though  a  vacuum,  without  the  me- 
diation of  anything  else  .  .  .  .  is  to  me  so 
great  an  absurdity  that  I  believe  no  man"  of 
competent  judgment  ever  fell  into  it.  This  was 
probably  Newton's  dominating  view,  though  in 
other  passages  he  is  not  so  emphatic.  In  general, 
however,  he  declares:  "I  do  not  take  gravity  for 
an  essential  property  of  bodies."  It  may  be  added 
that  the  science  of  to-day  is   still  engaged   in  a 


THE  ETHER.  417 

mighty  wrestle  with  Newton's  unsolved  problem 
of  action  at  a  distance  through  the  mediation  of 
an  omnipresent  Ether,  which  is  supposed  to  be  be- 
hind and  someliow  to  determine  universal  gravita- 
tion, possibly  by  mechanical  imi)act. 

Accordingly  Ether,  in  the  mind  of  the  scientist, 
is  a  postulated  universal  Fluid,  co-equal  with  all 
space  and  filling  the  same,  inter-planetary  and  also 
inter-stellar,  embracing  the  Heliosphore  as  well  as 
the  Cosmosphcre,  between  which  it  forms  some 
kind  of  unity  or  connecting  tissue.  Tlie  Fluid 
universal  it  is  called,  and  like  the  universal  it  can 
only  be  the  product  of  the  thinking  All-Self,  whose 
thought  we  have  to  re-think  or  re-create.  Ether 
is  not  merely  subjective,  it  is  existent,  it  is  already 
made  though  we,  each  Ego  of  us,  have  to  re-make 
it  for  ourselves.  It  is  a  medium,  actively  so,  or 
that  which  mediates,  having  thus  mediational 
power  which  in  its  way  inter-correlates  the  whole 
physical  universe.  The  attraction  of  gravitation 
is  declared  universal,  extending  its  reach  to  the 
remotest  spaces  of  the  Pancosmos,  and  binding  all 
Matter  and  Motion  together,  probably  through  the 
mediation  of  Ether.  This  transmits  force  which 
is  a  mode  of  Motion,  in  the  foi-m  of  radiative^  waves 
or  vibrations:  in  this  sense  it  is  radio-active,  as 
well  as  in  itself  probably,  for  we  now  hear  that 
everything  is  radio-active,  especially  in  the  realm 
of  the  Diacosmos.  l^tlicric  molecules  radiate  grav- 
itational lines  from  every  cosmical  body  to  all  the 

27 


418  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS  . 

rest,  and  need  but  its  material  presence  to  stimu- 
late the  radiative  act  of  gravitation  through  the 
spatial  immensities. 

Ether  may  be  regarded  as  the  primordial  proto- 
plasm of  the  physical  universe,  the  earliest  sub- 
stance of  Nature,  from  which  all  her  different 
forms  have  evolved.  Planets,  suns,  nebuliE  were 
in  the  beginning  the  one  single  protoplasmic  mate- 
rial, the  potentiality  of  all  the  others  which  have 
since  evolved.  This  thought  carries  us  back  to 
the  two  elements  with  which  we  saw  the  Cosmos 
starting:  Motion  and  Matter.  We  conceive  the 
Ether  to  be  these  twain  still  in  their  primal  unity, 
before  they  had  become  separated  from  each  other. 
If  all  things  of  Nature  are  sprung  of  those  ele- 
mental twins.  Motion  and  Matter,  there  was  a 
time  and  a  condition  in  which  they  were  not  born, 
but  sleeping  united  in  the  same  womb  of  the  All. 
In  this  view  Ether  was  the  first  separation  of  Nat- 
ure from  the  universal  Self,  the  earliest  form  of 
the  Pancosmos,  in  which  all  evolution  lies  implicit. 
We  might  call  it  the  pancosmical  egg  out  of  which 
were  to  hatch  all  the  stars  and  what  they  contain. 

Next  this  primordial  protoplasm  is  to  divide 
within  itself,  as  it  is  the  product  of  division  and  so 
is  inherently  divisive.  Such  division  of  it  is  ex- 
plicitly Motion  and  Matter,  with  the  involved 
quantitative  element  (as  all  division  involves 
quantity  or  how-much).  Ether,  then,  is  origi- 
nally composed  of   Motion  and   Matter  as  yet  un- 


THE  ETHER.  419 

differefntiated,  the  universal  substance  filling  all 
space,  and  the  first  created  or  separated  thing  of 
Nature.  Thus  we  are  whirled  back  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Cosmos,  whose  two  first  elements  we 
find  to  be  one  in  Ether. 

But  we  must  reach  out  to  a  third  conception  in 
this  domain,  namety,  the  constitution  of  the  proto-' 
plasmic  Ether,  which  is  composed  of  particles  or 
molecules  smallest  of  the  small.  Each  molecule 
of  it  we  have  to  think  as  made  up  of  the  primal 
elemental  constituents.  Motion  and  Matter,  ^'ery 
different  is  this  from  a  molecule  of  water  or  of  air, 
which  have  two  chemical  olemcnts  conjoined;  but 
these  two.  Motion  and  Matter,  are  far  more  pri- 
mary than  any  chemical  elements,  indeed  they  are 
the  elements  of  all  elements.  Such  is  the  unique 
particle  or  molecule  of  Ether,  which  thus  must  be 
conceived  as  the  primal  constituent  of  all  succeed- 
ing Nature,  not  only  on  earth  but  to  the  farthest 
regions  of  the  Pancosmos.  The  electron,  which 
now  dominates  physical  science,  is  usually  defined 
to  be  a  simple  charge  of  electricity,  pure  force 
without  material  substrate.'  Such  a  view  is  one- 
sided, indeed  inconceivable.  Motion  (or  energy) 
without  Matter,  or  Matter  without  Motion  exists 
not  in  Nature.  In  this  electrical  age  the  electron 
unduly  enthrones  electricity,  which  is  in  realit]^ 
only  one  of  the  radiants,  only  one  manifestation  of 
the  Ether  as  universal  medium.  It  is,  therefore, 
a  mistake  to  say,  as  is  so  often  said  just  now  that 


420  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Matter  is  nothing  but  electricity,  or  one  form  of 
energy  or  Motion.  Hence  the  electron  calls  for  and 
indeed  is  pushing  out  beyond  itself  toward  a  truly 
universal  principle  or  element  which  must  lie  in 
the  universal  protoplasm  of  Nature,  and  which  can 
be  made  the  constitutive  principle  of  all  forms  of 
the  Diacosmos,  as  well  as  of  the  Cosmos. 

Such  an  elemental  idea  we  may  name  the 
etherion.  We  say  idea,  for  such  an  object,  though 
conceived  as  real,  remains  supersensible  and  ideal. 
But  the  speculative  side  of  physical  science,  as  al- 
ready observed,  has  now  become  uppermost  and 
must  work  itself  out  in  this  ideal  domain  to  scien- 
tific completeness,  at  least  during  its  present  epoch 
of  efflorescence.  Hereafter  a  new  trend  may  set 
in.  Coming  l^ack  to  the  etherion,  we  may  note 
the  rapid  evolution  toward  it  during  the  past 
centmy,  in  the  atom  of  Dalton,  in  the  ion  of  Far- 
aday, finally  in  the  electron  of  the  present  time, 
whose  very  limitation  must  evolve  the  etherion  of 
to-morrow.  Only  in  the  universality  of  the  Ether 
can  the  universal  element  or  constituent  find  its 
realization. 

According  to  the  foregoing  conception,  the  Ether 
is  a  Fluid,  the  third  Fluid  in  the  first  stage  of  the 
Diacosmos.  Some  have  denied  its  fluidity;  Lord 
Kelvin  calls  it  a  jelly.  But  all  assign  to  it  a  wave- 
power,  an  undulatory  character  when  stimulated. 
We  conceive  it  likewise  to  be  molecular  in  constitu- 
tion like  the   other   Fluids.     Still  its  molecule  is 


THE  ether:  421 

very  differently  constituted  from  that  of  water  and 
air  for  instance.  The  first  (water)  is  a  compound 
of  cliemical  elements,  the  second  (air)  is  a  mixture 
of  chemical  elements,  the  third  (ether)  is  an  im- 
mediate union,  not  of  chemical  but  of  the  original 
elements  of  the  world's  protoplasm.  Such  a  mole- 
cule we  have  dared  call  an  etherion,  a  term  con- 
structed after  the  analogy  of  the  ion  and  the 
electron,  its  precursors  in  the  chase  for  the  ultimate 
physical  principle.  All  three  molecules  of  fluidity, 
the  aqueous,  the  aerial  and  the  etheric,  have  a 
common  elemental  constitution  in  the  conjunction 
of  two  elements,  yet  with  the  differences  already 
mentioned.  Thus  they  form  the  cycle  of  Fluids  in 
the  Diacosmos;  the  Ether  (the  third  stage)  may 
be  conceived  as  sharing  with  water  (the  first  stage) 
the  latter's  chief  mediational  characteristic,  namely 
the  transverse  wave-movement,  which  vibrates  the 
radiants  transversely  through  all  distance. 

And  now  for  a  difficulty  which  naturally  comes 
up  in  the  mind.  If  these  etheric  molecules  be  spher- 
ical, they  do  not  fully  fit  together,  there  must  be  a 
void  between  them,  very  small  indeed  but  still  real. 
Thus  arises  an  inter-etheric  problem,  which  seems  to 
indicate  that  the  Ether  is  not  the  universal  Fluid, 
but  is  at  last  limited  l)y  emi)ty  space  between  its 
molecules.  On  the  other  hand  if  these  molecules 
be  absolutely  expansible,  they  must  occupy  any 
such  void. 

In  this  connection  the  Ether  can  be  imagined  as 


422  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

the  ocean  of  the  universe  embracing  all  extension, 
if  it  be  not  just  that  which  extends  spatially.  In 
this  universal  ocean  are  swimming  all  the  celestial 
bodies  like  islands,  multitudinous  certainly,  but 
the  largest  of  them  are  very  small  in  comparison 
with  the  magnitude  of  their  environing  Fluid .  It 
has  no  surface  on  which  its  more  solid  substances 
may  float;  or  rather  its  surface  is  everywhere,  is  a 
potentiality  like  point,  line,  and  surface  in  space. 
Each  star  or  planet  has  to  geometrize  it  with  mo- 
tion, for  it  is  also  the  possibility  of  all  measure. 
The  Ether  as  a  totality  may  be  conceived  as  the 
one  single  all-embracing,  yea  j.ll-cngendering  ocean 
of  the  Pancosmos,  out  of  which  everything  else  in 
Nature  is  to  follow,  and  to  which  it  is  to  return. 
The  old  Greek  philosopher,  Heraclitus,  with  his 
universal  flux  seems  to  have  glimpsed  the  Ether. 

It  may  be  added  that  each  of  the  other  two 
Fluids  has  its  ocean  likewise,  not  universal  but 
special  and  limited,  indeed  only  terrestrial.  Water 
forms  our  great  mundane  ocean,  covering  accord- 
ing to  the  common  estimate  three-fourths  of  the 
globe's  surface,  and  seeking  a  steady  equilibrium 
in  molecular  lines  of  gravity  toward  the  common 
center  of  the  earth,  to  which  it  seems  tied  by  radi- 
ating ropes  of  force.  Air  forms  the  second  fluid 
ocean  completely  surrounding  the  globe  and  cov- 
ering it  many  miles  deep  (put  now  at  a  hundred) 
with  its  ever-expanding  particles  or  molecules. 
Still  the  air  is  heavy  and  in   spite  of  rebound  is 


THE  ETHER.  423 

brought  at  last  to  assume  also  molecular  lines  o.f 
gravity  toward  the  terrestrial  center  in  a  kind  of  ra- 
diation. The  atmosphere  has  a  very  indefinite 
upper  surface  to  its  ocean,  but  the  lower  surface  or 
bottom  is  sharply  marked  by  the  limit  of  land  and 
water,  both  of  which  it  embosoms.  But  the  third 
fluid  ocean,  the  etheric,  is  the  unlimited  one.  infinite- 
ly expansible  and  expanded  in  space,  not  only  em- 
bracing the  other  two  oceans  but  penetrating  them 
to  every  molecule,  which  can  offer  no  resistance  to 
its  subtle  insinuation,  being  of  it  originally.  Such 
are  the  three  circumambient  oceans  in  which  our 
globe  reposes,  though  this  is  no  boundary  against  the 
third.  Note  the  three  degrees  of  approach  toward 
universality  in  them:  the  aqueous  ocean  is  but 
partial  on  the  earth,  having  to  share  its  dominion 
with  the  solid  land ;  the  aerial  ocean  is  universally 
environing  as  far  as  the  globe  is  concerned,  but 
limited  to  it;  finally  the  etheric  ocean  is  not  bound 
by  the  terrestrial  tie  exclusively,  as  are  the  other 
two  Fluids,  but  sweeps  on  and  on  to  spatial  uni- 
versality, evidently  in  defiance  of  all  gravitation. 
Here  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  a  jorob- 
lem  as  yet  unsolved :  Has  the  Ether  any  weight, 
however  slight?  And  in  general,  what  is  the  rela- 
tion of  it  to  gravitation?  The  most  expansible 
Gas  on  earth  is  at  last  overcome  by  attraction ;  but 
in  the  Ether  the  expansibility  of  matter  has  quite 
reached  the  point  of  equaling  or  equilibrating  the 
power  of  gravitation.     Moreover  the  Ether  as  uni- 


424  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

versal  Fluid  lies  in  many  fields  of  gravitation,  yea 
in  all  of  them  absolutely;  one  field  cannot  help 
counter-poising  the  field  of  another,  and  so  there 
rises  in  the  Ether  a  kind  of  universal  interaction 
of  one  gravitating  force  or  perchance  wave  with 
another.  In  fact  universal  gravitation  as  apphed 
to  the  universal  Ether  undoes  itself;  the  sum  of 
all  attractions  in  every  direction  must  be  equal  at 
each  point  in  the  Ether.  The  attractive  force  of 
single  bodies  for  one  another  is  mutual,  and  varies 
directly  according  to  the  mass  and  inversely  ac- 
cording to  the  square  of  the  distance.  But  these 
conditions  do  not  hold  in  the  Ether,  which  is  all 
mass  and  which  is  everywhere  or  is  all  distance. 
Gravitation  pertains  to  bodies  individualized  and 
separate,  not  to  the  unseparated  universal  body, 
or  just  the  body  of  the  universe  as  physical.  Grav- 
itation is  really  particular  in  spite  of  its  ordinary 
predicate;  if  universalized  it  becomes  self-contra- 
dictory. Attraction  is  of  bodies  outside  of  one 
another;  but  what  can  be  outside  of  the  Ether  to 
attract  it,  being  itself  ubiquitous  and  universal? 
Can  a  universe,  even  if  of  Matter,  be  heavy? 
Only  if  there  be  two  or  more  universes  for  mutual 
gravitation — which  is  of  course  a  contradiction  in 
terms.  Gravitation  is  thus  an  externality  which 
must  become  internal  and  so  vanish  as  external. 
in  the  universal  body,  the  Ether. 

What  is  this  internal  gravitation  which  we  con- 
ceive to  IjQ  inherent    in  the  body  universal,  the 


THE  ETHER,  425 

Ether?  It  is  always  mo\dng  in  and  toward  its 
own,  itself,  not  outwardly  toward  something  else. 
We  now  must  come  back  to  the  conception  of  the 
etheric  molecule  or  the  etherion  as  the  primal 
oneness  of  Motion  and  Matter,  or  as  Matter  mov- 
ing and  Motion  mattering  (if  we  dare  coin  such  a 
word).  It  may  be  here  added  than  in  one  sense 
gravitation  can  be  and  is  called  universal.  It  holds 
of  all  particular  bodies,  which  as  separated  gravi- 
tate toward  one  another.  But  this  presupposes 
that  the  universal  Matter  has  been  specialized  into 
distinct  bodies,  which  then  mutually  attract,  but 
before  such  attraction  of  particular  matters,  there 
is  the  original  Ether  whence  they  came.  Gravita- 
tion is  accordingly  a  special,  particular  act  between 
particulars,  even  if  it  holds  of  all  of  them. 

We  have  now  come  to  the  two  extremes  of  the 
physical  universe — they  are  often  called  infinites 
by  way  of  emphasis— the  infinitely  large  or  ex- 
tended, the  Ether,  and  the  infinitely  small  or  di- 
vided, the  Etherion.  Both  belong  together  in  one 
substance,  which  is  the  primordial  protoplasm  of 
total  Nature.  We  may  look  at  them  in  another 
aspect:  the  Ether  is  the  extreme  of  the  Cosmos, 
while  the  Etherion  is  the  extreme  of  the  Diacos- 
mos.  In  their  unity  we  may  see  the  original  unity 
out  of  which  these  two  chief  stages  of  Nature  have 
unfolded  into  difference.  The  common  molecular 
structure  of  the  Pancosmos  we  find  in  this  primal 
mother-element  of  Nature. 


426  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Another  characteristic  must  be  emphasized: 
there  is  everywhere  and  always  Motion  in  the 
Ether — universal  Motion  in  the  universal  sub- 
stance. In  this  way  it  is  supremely  the  medium 
of  Motion;  it  is  the  bearer  of  all  special  forms  of 
Motion;  we  may  deem  it  the  vast  reservoir  which 
has  to  be  tapped  before  anything  can  be  moved. 
In  the  sweep  of  my  hand  I  have  to  draw  upon  the 
store  of  universal  Motion  and  make  it  particular 
in  my  case.  That  store  is  around  me  and  every- 
where else  in  the  physical  universe.  The  Ether 
is,  then,  the  reservoir  of  all  force  and  energy, 
which  are  but  phases  of  Motion.  The  problem 
with  man  is,  how  can  he  get  hold  of  it  and  direct 
it  to  his  end  in  greater  and  greater  volumes.  For 
he  does  not  make  it  at  all,  it  exists  primordially 
as  universal,  but  it  has  to  be  specialized.  All  move- 
ments from  the  flight  of  a  piece  of  dust  to  the 
whirl  of  the  planets  is  a  specialization  of  Motion,  a 
more  or  less  extensive  draught  from  its  well-head. 
At  the  same  time  we  are  not  to  forget  that  this 
Motion  has  its  material  counterpart  or  envelope  of 
Matter;  the  Ether  is  their  primal  protoplasmic 
oneness  in  its  smallest  particle  or  molecule,  which 
we  call  the  Etherion.  Physical  Science  which 
once  gave  all  to  Matter,  is  now  inclined  to  give  all 
to  Motion,  in  some  of  its  forms,  as  force,  energy, 
electricity.  Each  is  a  one-sided  stage  in  the  con- 
ception of  total  Nature,  which  cannot  do  or  even  be 
without  both  in  the  greatest  as  well  as  in  the  least. 


THE  ETHER.  427 

The  Ether  as  fountain  of  Motion  has  many  ways 
of  being  tapped  or  perchance  stirred  to  activity. 
It  is  the  ever-moving  medium,  mediating  all  special 
Motions  yet  keeping  its  own  universal  Motion.  We 
might  call  the  Ether  pure  Motion,  as  some  have 
done;  but  it  is  just  as  well  pure  Matter.  Now 
there  are  various  degrees  of  exciting  this  univer- 
sal medium  and  of  sharing  in  its  first  nature, 
which  is  universality.  The  walk  of  a  man  has  rel- 
atively little  participation  in  this  medium,  still  a 
little;  the  rotation  of  the  earth  has  considerably 
more,  and  light  very  much  more;  but  most  of  all 
gravitation  comes  nearest  to  sharing  in  pure  Mo- 
tion, and  hence  is  often  called  universal.  Attrac- 
tion of  body  for  body  seems  to  act  instantaneously 
and  goes  right  through  all  obstacles  so  far  as  we 
are  yet  able  to  discriminate.  The  Radiants — 
Heat,  Light,  Electricity — are  supposed  to  start 
waves  in  the  Ether  which  largely  correspond  to  its 
original  elemental  Motion — hence  their  velocity. 
But  they  do  not  coincide;  the  electron  is  not  as 
universal  as  the  Etherion.  Wireless  telegraphy 
has  found  a  way  of  participating  deeply  in  the 
etheric  medium  with  its  universal  Motion,  and  of 
making  it  carry  a  message  instantaneously  (as  far 
as  we  can  tell)  many  hundreds  of  miles.  It  stim- 
ulates Motion  and  Matter  almost  (though  not 
quite)  at  their  creative  source,  and  gives  an  im- 
press there  which  may  yet  be  borne  to  the  stars. 
For   Ether   is   the  medialional  ocean  between  all 


428  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

particularity  in  the  universe.  We  may  call  it  the 
All-Ether,  first  natural  product  or  separation  of 
the  All-Self  in  its  complete  process  as  Pampsy- 
chosis.  A  curious  fact  of  the  time  is  that  some 
scientists  regard  the  Ether  as  the  original  soul- 
stuff  of  humanity,  out  of  which  consciousness  and 
mind  have  gradually  evolved.  One  asks  in  vain, 
"Whence  this  soul-stuff?  It  is  interesting  and  sig- 
nificant that  so  many  naturalists  are  inclined  to 
project  into  Motion  and  Matter  an  elemental  soul- 
form,  and  trace  its  evolution  upward.  The  diffi- 
culty of  origin,  however,  still  remains.  Undoubt- 
edly all  Nature  has  a  psychical  strain  and  must  be 
psychically  ordered  as  a  part  or  phase  of  the  uni- 
versal Psychosis,  or  of  the  psychical  process  of  the 
universe  (Pampsychosis) .  From  this  indeed  Nat- 
ure sprang,  and  .she  always  bears  the  stamp  of 
her  origin. 

.  At  this  point  one  may  well  ask :  Will  man  ever 
be  able  to  tap  the  Ether  immediately  at  its  source, 
which  is  verily  the  source  of  universal  energy,  that 
is,  of  the  energy  of  the  universe?  Will  he  yet 
make  a  machine  which  will  directly  employ  or 
utihze  Motion  in  itself,  that  is,  Motion  of  Matter  in 
its  original  purity?  That  will  certainly  be  the 
machine  of  all  machines,  for  the  machinery  hitherto 
constructed  merely  catches  some  little  drops  of 
power  from  this  unlimited  ocean  of  universal  en- 
ergy, and  that  in  an  indirect  way,  through  some 
intermediate   material.     The    simple    Mechanical 


THE  ETHER.  429 

Powers  we  have  seen  using  primarily  animal  force; 
the  hydraulic  press  seizes  and  multiplies  the  might 
of  the  liquid,  water;  the  steam  engine  concen- 
trates and  directs  the  energy  of  a  gas  or  vapor; 
air  likewise  is  compressed  and  thus  made  a  me- 
dium of  power  in  many  ways  by  various  mechan- 
ical contrivances.  But  all  these  materials — solid, 
liquid,  gas — are  intermediate  and  derived,  so  arc 
also  thoir  various  energies;  they  get  themselves  as 
well  their  powers  from  the  one  original  material 
Power,  the  Ether.  Now  the  cry,  the  aspiration  is 
for  the  universal  Machine  which  will  function  the 
universal  energy,  the  primordial  Motion  of  Matter 
itself.  Associated  machines  we  are  already  get- 
ting; electrical  energy  is  segregated  and  stored  by 
machinery  in  vast  reservoirs  which  can  be  tapped 
and  turned  to  thousandfold  other  mechanical 
purposes.  Likewise  liquid  energy  is  gathered  from 
a  thousand  streams  and  united  in  a  huge  dam  (a 
kind  of  elemental  association)  whose  power  is 
drawn  off  by  a  thousand  conduits  and  made  to  turn 
mill-wheels  or  to  generate  other  forms  of  energy  (a 
good  instance  is  Niagara,  to  which  can  now  be 
added  the  artificial  reservoirs  constructed  in  the 
Rockies  and  in  the  Alleghenies) .  Truly  an  image 
of  man's  own  Social  Whole  is  this,  of  his  Eco- 
nomic Order  specially,  which  gathers  up  all  the 
little  streams  of  production  into  great  centers  of 
aggregation  from  which  these  products  are  distrib- 
uted to  the  millions.     But  the  primary  original  ag- 


430  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

gregation  of  total  energy,  the  etheric  ocean,  has 
hardly  yet  been  drawn  upon  directly  by  the  me- 
chanical contrivance,  though  in  wireless  telegraphy 
we  seem  to  be  getting  a  little  pinch  on  it  through 
an  electrical  device. 

The  nebular  hypothesis  of  Kant  and  Laplace 
starts  the  universe  with  nebulae,  the  original 
Matter  in  a  state  of  extreme  tenuity  which  pro- 
ceeds to  greater  and  greater  condensation.  In 
this  theory  Matter  dominates,  though  Motion  and 
Energy  are  not  left  out.  Given  that  nebulous  fire- 
mist,  then  the  universe  follows  or  rather  evolves. 
This  view  has  had  a  great  vogue  in  our  evolution- 
ary century  and  is  still  largely  held,  though  not 
without  sharp  attack.  Of  course  we  must  in  time 
peer  behind  the  fire-mist  and  originate  the  origin, 
or  evolve  the  evolution.  Thus  we  are  borne  back 
to  the  Ether  or  something  like  it. 

On  account  of  its  diverse  forms  or,  better,  its 
manifold  speciaHzation,  conjecture  has  sometimes 
set  up  many  different  Ethers,  each  with  its  partic- 
ular character.  But  we  are  to  see  that  the  univer- 
sal Ether  particularizes  itself  into  these  diverse 
forms  of  itself  in  adjustment  to  its  excitant,  or,  as 
this  is  often  called,  its  disturbance.  One  Ether 
there  is,  then,  not  typical  as  water  is  the  typical 
hquid,  or  air  the  typical  gas;  the  Ether  we  must 
regard  as  the  universal  Fluid,  including  all  its 
forms  and  indeed  creative  of  them.  It  has  the 
universal  molecule  which  is  verily  the  molecule  of 
the  Universe  as  physical. 


THE  ETHER.  431 

The  Ether  is  usually  designated  as  imponderable; 
in  a  sense  this  is  so  and  in  a  sense  not.  It  has  its 
material  constituent,  and  would  thus  need  to  be 
heavy.  Its  gravitation  must  be  conceived  as  pan- 
cosmical,  not  terrestrial  specially  nor  solar;  it 
gravitates  not  earthward  or  sunward  but  allward. 
It  is  truly  universal  and  thus  is  the  medium  of  all 
particular  gravitation.  It  gravitates  everywhither 
and  so  must  also  be  degravitating. 

The  Ether  propagates  specially  by  waves,  by  an 
oscillatory  movement  in  its  substance  from  the 
source  of  its  excitation.  These  waves  move  in  every 
direction  from  the  center  and  thus  in  form  at  least 
show  radio-activity  which  belongs  to  the  Ether  in- 
herently. Moreover  they  are  transverse,  having  an 
up-and-down  movement  similar  to  water,  not  a 
to-and-fro  movement  like  air. 

Ether,  the  most  attenuated  and  elastic  of  sub- 
stances, is  said  by  Lord  Kelvin  to  be  more  rigid 
than  steel;  its  enormous  velocity  gives  to  it  such 
rigidity.  This  fact  may  be  compared  with  the 
effect  of  velocity  upon  another  fluid,  water,  which 
falling  five  hundred  meters  through  a  tube  could 
not  be  penetrated  by  a  saber  stroke  (Le  Bon) . 
The  r9,diant  excitation  of  the  Ether  must  come 
into  rapport  with  the  velocity  in  order  to  be  borne 
by  it.  For  it  is  a  constant  quantity;  Heat,  Light 
and  Electricity  have  all  been  found  t<i  have  a 
speed  of  186,000  miles  per  second;  the  inference  is 
that  their  common  medium,  the  Ether,  has  their 


432  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

speed  or  has  it  for  the  Radiants,  which,  however, 
may  not  be  able  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  full 
etheric  rapidity. 

It  was  a  great  ti'iumph  for  sci^ce  when  the 
three  Radiants — Heat,  Light  and  Electricity- 
were  co-ordinated  by  their  common  velocity  in  the 
etheric  medium.  The  first  necessary  step  may  be 
deemed  the  work  of  the  Danish  astronomer, 
Roemer,  in  calculating  the  speed  of  light.  The 
next  great  step  was  taken  when  Young  showed 
the  movement  of  Light  was  undulatory,  not  cor- 
puscular. Hertz's  discovery  that  Electricity  moved 
with  the  speed  of  Light,  put  the  three  Radiants 
into  a  common  class,  the  second  of  the  Diacosmos, 
though  each  has  its  own  special  characteristics. 
Still  this  constant  velocity  of  the  Radiants  has 
been  recently  assailed,  as  have  so  many  other 
transmitted  dogmas.  For  instance  it  is  claimed 
that  experiment  has  shown  Light  to  vary  slightly 
in  speed  according  to  its  varying  intensity. 

The  Ether  seems  to  show  the  character  of  water 
in  a  number  of  points.  Its  wave-motion  is  trans- 
verse like  that  of  water  and  unlike  that  of  air.  In 
its  rigidity  through  velocity  it  resembles  water. 
In  water  begins  the  visible  special  undulation  of 
the  Fluid  which  in  Ether  becomes  invisible  and 
universal  The  Ether  has  also  not  a  few  charac- 
teristics in  common  with  the  air.  All  three  are 
radiative  of  Motion,  and  therein  show  their  native 
radio-activity,  after  the  general  form  in  which  we 


THE  ETHER.  433 

conceive  this  term.  The  statement  is  frequently 
made  that  the  air  cannot  transmit  Light  or  any 
of  the  Radiants  since  the  air-wave  does  not  move 
transversely  (that  is,  in  harmony  with  the  etheric 
Fluid),  but  longitudinally.  In  this  respect  Ether 
is  like  water.  Moreover  its  molecules  are  supposed 
to  be  rotational,  and  probably  on  this  side  recep- 
tive of  the  excitation  of  the  Radiant,  which  is  also 
rotatory.  The  rotatory  movement  of  the  etheric 
molecule  has  been  declared  to  be  so  great  that  it 
projects  light,  like  that  of  the  Sun,  far  beyond  the 
Solar  System  into  the  Cosmosphere. 

The  conception  of  the  etheric  molecule  as  ma- 
terial on  the  one  hand,  yet  as  imponderable  on  the 
other,  is  the  grand  dualism  in  this  sphere ;  to  over- 
come which  scientists  are  wrestling.  Here  we  may 
note  the  solution  of  the  distinguished  Russian  chem- 
ist, Medelejeff .  He  declares  it  to  be  a  chemical  ele- 
ment, whose  atomic  weight  is  a  millionth  of  that 
of  hydrogen,  hitherto  deemed  the  lightest  element. 
He  puts  Ether  into  his  zero  group  along  with 
helium  and  argon,  labeling  it  the  x  element  (gas- 
eous) of  the  chemical  totality,  which  he  has  so 
wonderfully  organized  in  his  Periodic  System  (to 
be  mentioned  later  under  Chemism) .  Such  a  theory 
regards  the  Ether  as  material  and  heavy.  Of 
course  it  at  once  runs  upon  a  difficulty :  if  the 
etheric  molecule  has  weight,  what  is  attracting  it? 
Or,  as  universal,  how  can  it  have  any  particular 
attraction  which  finally  determines  it?    The  fore- 

28 


4M  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

going  theory  leaves  out  the  real  difficulty :  that  of 
(Jegravitation,  which  must  be  equal  to  gravitation 
in  the  Ether.  Yet  Mendelejeff' s  idea  has  its  sig- 
nificance; it  at  least  suggests  the  original  element, 
the  universal  chemical  element,  from  which  all  the 
others  have  been  evolved  and  to  which  they  may 
be  reduced.  Thus  the  Ether  chemically  consid- 
ered may  be  taken  as  the  primordial  unit  of  the 
eighty  (more  or  less)  elements  of  chemistry. 

When  we  come  to  Gravitation,  we  are  met  by  a 
wholly  new  potence  of  the  Ether  as  medium,  which 
now  seems  to  manifest  itself  in  a  new  power,  quite 
as  absolute  Motion.  Heat,  Light,  Electricity,  have 
no  effect  upon  the  function  of  Gravitation,  which 
acts  as  if  independent  of  these  diacosmical  energies. 
It  is  not  obstructed  by  intervening  bodies,  physi- 
cists say.  It  is  constant,  unchangeable,  inex- 
haustible; it  is  not  diminishing  as  are  the  forces  of 
the  Diacosmos.  According  to  Laplace  its  velocfty 
has  to  be  at  least  fifty  million  times  greater  than 
that  of  Light.  Naturally  the  mind  speculates 
about  the  connection  between  Gravitation  and  the 
Ether.  Bodies  gravitating  toward  each  other  man- 
ifest their  unity  as  Matter,  but  this  same^ manifes- 
tation as  attraction  is  quite  one  with  the  universal 
Motion  of  the  Ether  itself.  Gravitation  partakes 
of  two  Motions:  the  universal  and  the  special;  as 
universal  it  is  instantaneous,  ideal,  purely  etheric; 
but  as  special  it  is  retarded,  real,  measurable:  that 
the  Sun  attracts  the  Earth  is  the  universal  instan- 


THE  ETHER.  435 

taneous  Motion;  that  the  Earth  moves  toward  the 
Sun  is  the  particular  finite  Motion.  The  first  was 
deemed  once  the  sudden  actio  in  distans,  but  is 
now  regarded  as  etheric  action,  the  second  is  the 
existent  terrestrial  movement  in  its  orbit.  The 
diacosmical  Radiants  also  show  this  universal  side 
of  Motion.  We  may  repeat  that  the  universe  as  a 
totality  cannot  be  gravitative  without  contradict- 
ing itself,  that  is,  without  negating  itself  as  uni- 
verse. Only  as  particularized  can  it  come  under 
the  law  of  Gravitation.  In  this  state  of  particu- 
larity Newton  grasped  it  and  formulated  the  afore- 
said law. 

To  a  limited  degree  we  may  conceive  a  body  as 
radiating  Gravitation  in  every  direction.  The  Sun 
is  the  center  of  attraction  for  all  bodies  of  the  solar 
system,  as  it  is  the  center  of  emission  of  light.  In 
both  ways  it  stimulates  the  Motion  of  the  Ether, 
but  very  differently;  pe^'forming  in  the  one  case  its 
cosmical,  in  the  other  its  diacosmical  part,  or  that  of 
unification  there  and  of  separation  here.  It  strives 
on  the  one  hand  to  bring  all  its  Matter  to  itself, 
then  on  the  other  it  strives  to  eject  its  own  very 
self  as  energy  into  the  circumjacent  space. 

This  vast  pancosmical  reservoir  of  Ether  with  its 
ever-moving  molecules — what  is  the  direction  of 
its  Motion?  It  would  seem  to  be  the  connecting 
element  between  all  portions  of  the  Solar  System; 
then  it  must  sweep  out  into  the  Cosmosphero  with 
which  it  connects  the  Heliospherc ;  it  is  the  Ocean 


436  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOG. 

which  washes  every  nook  and  whirls  into  and  out 
of  every  bay  of  the  Pancosmos.  The  universal 
Fluid  of  the  physical  universe  we  conceive  it  and 
imagine  it  to  be  swirling  through  our  relatively 
little  corner  of  the  Sun's  dominion,  and  then  re- 
turning in  its  round  of  inter-stellar  spaces. 

To  give  any  detailed  organization  of  this  third 
Fluid,  would  be  even  more  hypothetical  than  the 
hypothetical  Ether  itself.  It  is  only  possible  to 
present  some  intimations  derived  from  the  two 
other  Fluids,  the  Liquid  and  the  Gas,  which  we 
have  seen  showing  a  common  underlying  order, 
which  order  we  may  conjecture  to  have  some 
analogies  in  the.  Ether. 

1.  If  we  take  the  etheric  molecule  as  spherical, 
we  must  add  to  it  a  complete  expansibility  or  the 
possibility  of  assuming  all  shapes.  Hence  the 
molecularity  of  the  Ether  is  not  to  be  conceived 
as  discontinuous  (Lord  Kelvin  and  many  other 
physicists)  or  as  granulated.  Such  a  view  implies 
the  rigidity  of  the  etheric  molecule,  which  does 
not  comport  with  its  absolutely  expansible  nature. 
Moreover  such  a  view  calls  up  an  inter-ether  as 
hmit  to  the  Ether,  thus  denying  the  latter's  uni- 
versality. In  such  a  case,  too,  the  series  of  atom, 
ion,  electron,  would  not  stop  with  the  etherion, 
but  would  go  on  ad  infinitum.  That  is,  between 
the  etheric  molecules  there  would  have  to  be  con- 
ceived pure  space  or  some  new  different  Ether 
with  its  molecule.     But  this  conception  denies  the 


THE  ETHER.  437 

very  nature  of  the  etherion,  which  is  the  ultimate 
germ  or  blastulc  of  the  Pancosmos. 

2.  The  trans  missive  character  of  the  Ether  must 
be  deemed  its  chief  property  which  takes  the  form 
of  undulation  like  the  other  Fluids.  Yet  it  is  also 
very  different  from  other  sorts  of  undulation,  being 
the  universal  one,  or  that  of  the  universe  as  phys- 
ical. It  is  a  continuous  equilibration  of  Motion 
and  Matter,  which  is  the  original  source  of  all  en- 
ergy; it  is  the  primordial  oscillation  between  Cos- 
mos and  Diacosmos,  gravitating  and  degravitating. 
Attraction,  being  of  all  directions,  keeps  forever 
acting  yet  also  counteracting  itself:  thus  arises  and 
continues  the  undulatory  process  of  the  Ether, 
weighting  yet  unweighting  itself,  oscillating  not  so 
much  in  Time  as  with  Time  itself  (see  preceding  p. 
64).  It  may  be  added  that  such  an  etheric  undula- 
tion is  a  quantum  and  hence  measurable,  though  as 
yet  mathematical  measurement  has  been  able  to 
seize  it  only  in  some  of  very  limited  manifestations. 

3.  What  we  have  called  the  molecular  gravita- 
tion of  Fluids,  in  the  case  of  air  and  water  for  in- 
stance, is  determined  finally  by  the  pull  of  the 
earth.  But  now  in  the  etheric  molecule  this  par- 
ticular terrestrial  attraction  is  countervailed  by 
what  we  may  name  universal  attraction ;  we  con- 
ceive the  Etherion  gravitating  specially,  but  also 
overcoming  such  gravitation,  that  is,  degravitat- 
ing. This  we  cannot  conceive  as  a  dead  piece  of 
matter  (like  Lord  Kelvin's  jelly),  but  as  a  perpet- 


438  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

ual  process  in  itself,  which  fact  makes  it  the  uni- 
versal medium  of  all  gravitation  (Cosmos)  as  well 
as  of  all  degravitation  (Diacosmos), 

Yet  with  a  difference  which  must  be  here  noted. 
It  is  evident  that  there  is  an  inner  movement,  we 
may  indeed  say,  an  inner  conflict  in  every  Etherion 
as  well  as  in  the  grand  totality  of  the  Ether;  its 
material  unity  (expressed  in  gravitation)  is  first 
and  cosmical,  then  comes  its  strongly  separative 
and  diacosmical  act  of  assailing  and  undoing  this 
gravitative  unity,  whereby  it  degravitates  and 
forms  the  basic  undulating  process  of  itself  as  uni- 
versal medium.  The  result  is  that  the  etheric 
molecule,  when  stimulated  by  a  Radiant,  such  as 
Light,  is  already  occupied  at  home  by  its  own  task 
of  degravitation,  and  so  is  in  a  manner  preoccu- 
pied, using  a  part  of  its  energy  for  its  own  activ- 
ity. In  response  to  this  excitation  from  the  out- 
side by  a  Radiant  it  can  give  only  a  share  of  its 
energy  which  is  thereby  limited,  partial,  and  ac- 
cordingly measurable  in  space  and  time.  On  the 
other  hand  this  same  etheric  molecule,  when  stim- 
ulated by  gravitation  has  no  such  inner  self-opposi- 
tion to  overcome  as  in  the  case  of  degravitation, 
and  hence  is  practically  endowed  with  unlimited 
motion.  Such  is  our  solution  of  that  problem 
which  has  so  deeply  troubled  the  physicist,  and 
which  may  be  stated  in  a  special  case  as  follows: 
Why  does  light  travel  with  a  limited  measurable 
velocity,  while   gravitation  is  seemingly  instanta- 


THE  ETHER.  ■      439 

neous  and  iinmcasurable?  The  etheric  molecule 
has  to  unbalance  its  own  gravitation  before  taking 
up  and  transmitting  light;  thus  it  has  double  duty 
in  the  case  of  the  Radiants — which  it  has  not  in 
the  case  of  simple  attraction.  At  present  we  can 
put  the  contrast  in  this  way :  the  Ether  in  response 
to  gravitation,  universally  gravitates;  while  it,  in 
response  to  degravitation  can  but  partially  and 
specially  degravitate. 

-  Here  we  must  bring  to  an  end  our  little  treatise 
on  the  coming  science  of  Ethericity  with  its  two 
chief  elements,  the  Ether  and  the  Etherion.  It  is 
as  yet  wholly  speculative,  but  altogether  neces- 
sary, even  in  the  opinion  of  the  hardest-headed 
experimentalists.  It  is  getting  to  be  acknowl- 
edged that  Electricity,  which  is  having  such  a 
vogue  in  physical  science  through  its  practical 
side,  goes  back  to  and  rests  upon  Ethericity. 

But  it  is  time  to  pass  to  the  power  which  rouses, 
excites,  stimulates  this  etheric  medium  in  its  own 
diacosmical  fashion.  We  call  this  stage  the  radi- 
ant Diacosmos,  being  the  second  stage,  which 
shows  its  basic  separation  in  the  two  princi- 
ples, the  stimulating  and  the  mediating,  both  of 
which  are  next  to  bo  taken  up. 


440  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 


CHAPTER   SECOND. 

THE  RADIANT  DIACOSMOS. 

Not  the  molecular  principle  now  but  the  fact  of 
radiation  rises  to  view  and  becomes  the  funda- 
mental characteristic  of  Nature.  We  pass  from 
the  Fluids  resisting  gravitation  indeed,  but  tend- 
ing to  drop  back-  under  its  control,  to  a  new  group 
of  appearances  in  the  Diacosmos,  to  which  we 
shall  give  a  special  name,  the  Radiants.  These  are 
Heat,  Light  and  Electricity,  which  have  the  com- 
mon trait  of  radiating  from  a  center  of  excitation. 
Thus  they  manifest  attraction  reversed  and  turn 
to  work  the  other  v/ay  from  that  which  we  have 
seen  in  the  Cosmos.  Instead  of  bodies  being  drawn 
together  by  gravitation,  they  now  seem  to  be  sep- 
arated and  repelled  throughout  the  physical  uni- 
verse. Cohesion  is  not  only  negated  but  is  turned 
to  its  opposite;  a  force  which  it  held  fast  and 
made  to  work  in  harness,  has  broken  loose  and 
dashes  out  mightily  in  every  direction  toward  the 
extremities  of  the  Cosmosphere.  The  light  of  the 
sun  and  stars  gives  evidence  of  such  a  release  of 
energy  in  the  remotest  regions  of  Space.  They 
all  show  Radiation,  w^hich  can  only  mean  a  libera- 
tion of  imprisoned  energy  which  reverses  gravita- 
tation  and  destroys  cohesion. 

Of  course  one  cannot  help  asking  what   or  who 


THE  RADIANT  DIACOSMOS.  441 

has  broken  open  the  prison  of  the  Cosmos  and 
sent  its  freed  inmates  streaming  forth  toward  in- 
finity? It  may  be  viewed  as  Nature's  grand  work 
of  deUverance,  her  mighty  diacosmical  act,  or 
more  properly  a  stage  of  it,  the  second.  The  first 
stage  of  the  Diacosmos  we  have  already  traced  in 
the  Fluids;  the  next  stage  is  the  present  one,  the 
Radiants,  as  we  shall  name  them  together.  Ulti- 
mately we  have  to  see  this  movement  as  psychical 
or  rather  as  pampsychical,  Nature  being  but  a 
phase  or  form  of  the  universal  Self.  Motion  (the 
Separating)  and  Matter  (the  Separated)  are  now 
revealing  one  of  their  special  manifestations  in  the 
course  of  the  total  evolution  of  Nature;  we  may 
call  them  for  the  sake  of  analogy,  the  Radiat- 
ing (the  Radiants)  and  the  Radiated  (the  Fluids, 
especially  the  Ether).  Thus  we  are  to  discrimi- 
nate the  two-fold  character  of  the  present  stage: 
the  radiating  energy,  or  the  side  of  Motion,  and 
the  radiated  medium  of  it,  the  side  of  Matter. 
A  new  kind  of  impact  we  shall  witness  here,  a 
kind  of  colliding  Diacosmos,  homologous  with  the 
colliding  Cosmos  already  set  forth  (see  p.  172). 

If  we  compare  the  Radiants  of  the  present  stage 
(Light,  Heat,  Electricity)  with  the  Fluids  of  the 
preceding  stage  (Liquid,  Gas,  Ether),  we  observe 
that  the  latter  are  reacting  against  their  material 
attraction,  and  also  they  are  seeking  to  sepa- 
rate from  their  cohesive  unity.  But  they  have  to 
submit  to   gravitation  though    resisting   it;  they 


442  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

are  still  material  though  in  a  protest  against  Mat- 
ter. The  mobility  of  water  undoes  cohesion  but 
yields  to  gravitation;  the  expansibility  of  air 
assails  gravitation  but  has  at  last  to  submit,  being 
heavy ;  Ether  is  conceived  as  far  more  mobile  than 
water  and  far  more  expansible  than  air,  quite  to 
the  point  of  equilibrating  Motion  with  Matter; 
still  it  is  held  to  be  molecular  and  material,  it  is 
Matter  degravitated, quite  deprived  of  ponderability 
and  so  infinitely  yielding  to  radiation.  But,  when 
all  is  told,  the  Fluids  are  not  completely  separated 
from  gravitation,  they  are  always  returning  to 
equilibrium  with  it  after  disturbance,  they  cannot 
overcome  it  fully  in  spite  of  their  resiliences  and 
reactions  from  its  compelling  power.  So  much  for 
the  Fluids. 

But  the  Radiants  have  properly  no  such  rebound 
to  gravitation;  in  accord  with  their  name,  they 
ray  forth  without  returning  to  their  gravitating 
source,  their  separation  or  dissociation  is  com- 
plete. Thus  the  Diacosmos  has  realized  itself  in 
its  division  from  the  Cosmos. 

Radiation  may  be  taken  as  a  kind  of  actio  in 
distans,  but  the  reverse  of  that  of  gravitation.  The 
ray  of  light  streams  out  into  the  distance  against 
attraction;  it  is  repellent,  yea  self-repellent  to  the 
last;  it  is  in  an  unceasing  flight  from  its  origin  and 
from  itself.  It  is  separation  per  se,  while  attrac- 
tion strives  lor  unity,  and  works  from  afar.  Truly 
the  unitary  Cosmos  has  been  transformed  into  the 


THE  RADIANT  DIACOSMOS.  443 

separative  Diacosmos.  Nature  seems  to  have 
wheeled  about  in  Heat,  Light  and  Electricity, 
and  to  be  rushing  outward  as  if  to  get  away  from 
herself,  though  wc  may  see  in  the  end  that  she 
is  by  this  route  really  coming  back  to  herself,  as  a 
whole.  Certainly  the  center  of  gravity  in  the  uni- 
verse seems  to  be  uncentered,  literally  exploding 
in  every  direction.  Radiation  inverts  the  former 
cosmical  movement,  it  is  reversible  gravitation. 

In  the  extremely  responsive,  we  may  say  sensi- 
tivized  Ether,  the  Radiants  chiefly  manifest  them- 
selves in  successive  waves.  Already  all  the  mole- 
cular Fluids  have  shown  an  undulatory  character, 
even  Space,  Time,  Matter,  were  not  without  their 
oscillations,  as  wc  have  seen.  But  these  were 
struggles  which  sooner  or  later  lapsed  into  equili- 
brium; they  all  gravitated  at  last  to  their  cosmical 
center.  But  the  Radiants  thrill  eternally  toward 
the  circumference  of  the  universe;  they  speed  for 
liberation  upon  wave  after  wave,  through  the  un- 
obstructed but  not  unfilled  Space. 

But  next  we  ask  about  the  source  of  this  radia- 
tion? The  striking  fact  comes  to  the  front  that 
such  source  is  for  us  found  in  the  Sun,  which  we 
have  already  seen  to  be  the  center  of  gravitation 
for  the  planetary  system.  So  we  have  a  diacos- 
mical  Sun  as  well  as  a  cosmical,  yet  both  are  one; 
the  great  luminary  is  endowed  with  two  op- 
posite yet  fundamental  qualities.  If  it  is  the  uni- 
fying body  of  the   Cosmos  or  of  one   part  of  the 


444  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

same,  it  is  likewise  the  separative  body  of  the  Dia- 
cosmos;  if  it  attracts  all,  it  divides  all.  In  its  im- 
mediate vicinity  it  seems  to  allow  no  compounds* 
it  tears  them  asunder,  a  drop  of  water  falling  on  it 
would  not  become  merely  steam,  but  hydrogen  and 
oxygen.  It  seemingly  permits  no  solids  or  liquids 
near  it,  but  turns  them  into  separating  gases  ever 
repellent.  It  will  have  nothing  but  elements, 
the  irreducible  ones  of  Nature;  thirty-six  chemical 
elements  have  been  distinguished  in  the  spectrum 
of  the  Sun  with  others  in  doubt;  possibly  they  are 
all  there  in  their  original  elemental  form.  Calcium 
in  enormous  quantities  furnishes  the  intense  lime- 
light illuminating  the  planets  and  piercing  the 
starry  depths  of  the  Cosmosphere.  Much  carbon 
is  radiating  thence,  particularly  from  the  solar 
clouds ;  but  strangely  no  gold  has  yet  been  found  in 
the  golden  Sun.  Other  metals  or  elements  it  ap- 
pears to  have  which  are  unknown  to  our  earth. 
Helium  was  first  noticed  in  the  Sun  by  Lockyer, 
in  1868,  but  was  found  in  a  terrestrial  mineral 
(clevite)  by  Ramsay,  in  1895.  The  Sun  is  our  con- 
centrated Diacosmos,  yet  decentering  itself.  From 
it  speed  the  three  Radiants  which  are  now  to  be 
considered.  At  the  same  time  we  must  not  forget 
that  the  Sun,  if  radiating,  is  also  gravific;  it  is 
actively  centripetal  as  well  as  centrifugal  in  itself, 
it  causes  all  within  its  sphere  of  influence — the 
Heliosphere — to  seek  it  and  to  fly  from  it. 
The  earth  attracts  its  own  separated  bodies,  but 


THE  RADIANT  DIACOSMOS.  445 

hardly  repels  them,  though  it  stops  them  on  its 
surface  and  keeps  them  from  its  center.  Now  the 
Sun  repels  itself  as  material,  radiates  itself,  being 
inherently  self-separating  down  to  its  smallest 
particle.  For  this  reason  it  is  supposed  to  be 
slowly  dissolving,  consuming,  and  exhausting  itself 
in  its  very  radiances.  Emphatic  is  the  scientific 
view  at  present  that  the  Sun  never  gets  back  fully 
what  it  gives  out,  and  so  is  burning  up.  Heat, 
for  instance,  is  its  very  self-dissolution,  which  it 
rays  out  from  itself  through  its  system  and  be- 
yond, warming  our  earth  on  the  way  with  its 
slowly  ebbing  life-blood.  From  this  aspect  of  the 
case  the  Radiants  are  forever  carrying  off  and  dis- 
sipating the  Sun's  bank-account  of  energy.  They 
are  really  negative  forces  which  are  certain  in 
time  to  negate  themselves.  The  laughing  face  of 
the  sunrise  is  but  a  dying  smile  of  ancient  Helius. 
Possibly  some  millions  of  years  hence  the  terres- 
trial problem  will  be,  How  can  we  save  the  Sun? 
With  a  little  shudder  for  posterity,  we  may  pass  on. 
Psychically  considered,  the  Sun  has  the  unitary 
stage  in  gravitation,  and  also  the  separative  stage 
in  radiation.  But  science  affirms  that  there  is  no 
return  for  it  out  of  self-separation,  that  it  has  in 
itself  no  recovery  from  its  diacosmical  dissipation 
or  universal  debauch.  Like  Hans  Breitman,  the 
Sun  is  declared  to  be  solving  the  problem  of 
the  universe  "by  one  eternal  spree".  Undoubt- 
edly the  Diacosmos  is  the  separative  stage  of  the 


446  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

total  process  of  Nature,  and  this  separation  per- 
meates it,  is  its  fundamental  characteristic.  The 
Fluids,  the  Radiants,  the  Chemical  Elements  have 
all  this  trait  in  common.  The  Diacosmos  seems 
superficially  the  anarchy  of  Nature;  still  it  belongs 
to  her  complete  harmony,  if  this  can  only  be 
grasped  aright.  Hence  it  comes  that  the  proper 
ordering  of  this  diacosmical  phase  is  for  us  the  re- 
demption from  chaos,  the  grand  rescue  of  the  soul 
from  Nature's  dissolution,  and  indeed  the  rescue 
of  Nature  herself  from  her  own  negative  stage  of 
self-undoing. 

At  present,  accordingly,  the  task  is  to  put 
into  order  the  second  part  of  the  Diacosmos, 
— the  radiant  Diacosmos — in  whose  domain  we 
place  the  three  Radiants,  which  are  Heat,  Light, 
Electricity.  They  are  sometimes  called  radi- 
ant Energy,  or  radiant  Motion,  as  if  Motion 
had  now  become  explicit,  taking  its  own  form 
against  Matter,  and  manifesting  itself  in  its  own 
right  and  in  its  own  medium  (Ether).  Hith- 
erto Motion  as  particular  has  been  more  or  less 
material,  even  in  the  fluids;  but  now  it  breaks 
loose  and"  defies  gravity  of  every  kind,  radiating 
under  conditions  from  bodies  small  and  great.  It 
shows  itself  reacting  against  Matter,  flying  away 
from  the  same  as  its  oppressor  and  asserting  its 
freedom.  In  all  this  what  is  Motion  trying  to  do? 
Evidently  to  undo  Matter  and  get  back  to  its 
source.     What  is  this  source?     Ultimately  the  All- 


THE  RADIANT  DIACOSMOS.  447 

Self,  from  which  Nature  primordially  separated  as 
Motion  and  as  Matter.  This  striving  or  aspiration 
we  have  always  found  in  Nature  and  her  children ; 
Motion  as  her  earliest  child,  is  here  seen  strug- 
gling to  get  rid  of  the  grand  separation,  overcom- 
ing Matter  as  the  starting-point  and  raying  forth 
in  every  direction  toward  the  All.  Radiation  may 
be  deemed,  therefore,  the  real  appearance  of  Mo- 
tion, its  veritable  phcnonienality.  What  ii  Motion 
succeeded  in  its  striving?  It  would  undo  itself, 
having  attained  its  end,  which  is  in  its  last  comple- 
tion self-hood.  Motion  strives  to  be  Self,  and  so 
seeks  to  undo  its  own  primal  unsclving,  which 
gives  Nature,  the  Unself.  Thus  Motion  in  its 
pushing  ever  beyond  and  beyond  itself  shows  a 
sort  of  aspiration,  which  in  the  radiance  of  light 
becomes  luminous,  yea  self-luminous,  shining  forth 
out  of  its  previous  darkness. 

Repeatedly  we  have  said  that  the  radiant  Dia- 
cosmos  has  as  its  content  the  process  of  the  three 
Radiants,  which  are  to  be  unfolded  in  their  proper 
order.   These  are  as  follows: 

I.  Heat — the  immediate  Radiant,  essentially 
molecular  in  action,  radiating  itself  through  the 
Ether  in  undulations  which  are  non-luminous. 

II.  Light — the  luminous  Radiant,  dividing  witliin 
itself  and  radiating  itself  as  divided,  having  self- 
expansion  rather  than  molecular  exi)ansion. 

III.  Electricity — the  circuit  Radiant,  self-return- 
ing in  circuits  which  are  tlion  radiated  through  the 
Ether. 


448  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Such  is  a  brief  preliminary  statement  of  the  sec- 
ond stage  of  the  Diacosmos  with  its  three  Radi- 
ants. Yet  all  three  can  be  conceived  as  united  in 
one  primordial  Radiant,  or  as  the  universal  dia- 
cosmical  ray  which  separates  not  only  into  these 
three  forms,  but  also  into  an  infinite  number  of 
rays  included  in  them.  Indeed  scientists  have 
conceived  a  kind  of  scale  or  key-board  of  Radi- 
ants hke  that  of  a  piano,  with  its  octaves  and  sep- 
arate notes.  Heat  rays,  light  rays,  electric  rays, 
and  also  chemical  rays,  are  arranged  in  one  scheme 
on  a  scale  of  27  octaves,  more  or  less,  of  which 
the  light-rays  form  only  one  octave  or  one  twenty- 
seventh  part.  Such  is  the  small  range  of  visible 
undulations  of  the  Ether  in  the  sum  total  pro- 
duced by  the  Radiants.  Such  a  key- board  may 
be  extended  to  embrace  also  the  vibrations  of 
sound.  According  to  Savart,  the  limits  of  audi- 
bility lie  between  16  vibrations  in  a  second 
(lowest),  and  48,000  vibrations  in  a  second  (high- 
est) .  But  the  limits  of  visibility  lie  between  400 
millions  milhons  of  vibrations  in  a  second  (dull  red 
of  the  spectrum)  to  800  millions  millions  (the  violet 
of  the  spectrum) .  Beyond  the  violet  the  invisible 
(ultra-violet)  rays  have  been  discovered,  especially 
through  the  photographic  plate  which  is  far  more 
sensitive  than  the  human  eye.  A  scientist  de- 
clares that  these  invisible  rays  have  been  detected 
up  to  3,000  milhons  millions  of  vibrations.  So  there 
is  conceived  a  scale  from  this  number  to  the  lowest 


THE  RADIANT  DIACOSMOS.  449 

sound  of  16  vibrations.  What  lies  between?  Much 
of  it  is  unknown;  here  indeed  is  declared  to  be 
the  enormously  large  undiscovered  country  for  the 
coming  explorer.  Says  Lord  Kelvin  generally  of 
this  sphere:  ''This  is  an  unknown  province  of  sci- 
ence ;the  investigation  of  vibrations  between  those 
two  limits  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  promising 
provinces  of  science   for  the  future  investigator." 

Such  is  pretty  nearly  the  radio-active  scale  of 
the  whole  Diacosmos.  The  fact  is,  however,  that 
it  can  be  extended  into  the  Cosmos,  in  which  we 
have  noticed  the  radial  movement  produced  by 
the  rotation  of  bodies  largest  and  least,  which 
radiates  revolving  suns  and  planets  as  well  as 
whirling  globules  of  water.  The  undulation  of  the 
diacosmical  Radiants  may  well  be  deemed  to  have 
an  analogous  character,  indeed  to  be  in  a  line  of  ev- 
olution from  their  cosmical  parallels.  Still  there 
is  a  difference;  the  one  we  may  call  radiant  Mo- 
tion, that  of  the  Radiants  jH'oper  (diacosmical), 
the  other  is  radial  Motion,  the  ejecting  power  of 
a  revolving  sphere  (cosmical) . 

Many  years  ago  John  Tyndall  gave  to  the  public 
a  book  entitled  Heat,  a  Mode  of  Motion.  The  con- 
tents were  much  read,  but  the  title  was  its  best 
part,  veritably  a  stroke  of  genius.  This  title, 
easily  intelligible,  was  adopted  by  the  public,  and 
became  a  part  of  the  general  consciousness  of  the 
time.  Heat  was  defined  and  correlated  for  the 
ordinary  man,  and  rose  at  once  into  popularity. 

29 


450  COSMOS   A  YD  DIACOSMOS. 

I. 

Heat. 

So  it  comes  that  an  axiom  of  modern  Natural 
Science  runs:  Heat  is  a  mode  of  Motion.  This 
expression  carries  Heat  back  to  the  primal  start  of 
Nature  herself,  whose  first  manifestation  was  Mo- 
tion, the  Separating.  The  implication  is  that  there 
are  many  modes  or  forms  of  Motion  of  which  Heat 
is  but  one,  occupying  one  sphere,  showing  one 
stage.  As  we  order  it  here  in  the  great  temple  of 
Nature's  appearances,  it  is  the  first  of  the  three 
forms  of  radiation  in  the  second  part  of  the  Dia- 
cosmos,  which  we  call  radiant  from  the  foregoing 
basic  characteristic.  Heat  is,  accordingly  a  Radi- 
ant, though  not  strictly  the  luminous  one,  which  is 
Light. 

Heat  can  be  grasped  as  a  form  of  Motion  sepa- 
rating from  one  material  form  (say  the  sun) ,  and 
entering  another  material  form  (solid  or  fluid)  whose 
molecules  it  separates  and  endows  with  itself 
(makes  them  hot).  Heat  moves  from  body  to 
body  and  imparts  its  own  separative  character  in- 
ternally. It  is  a  form  of  Motion  assailing  Matter 
and  rending  the  same  asunder  in  its  molecular 
structure,  whereby  of  course  the  mass  is  also 
affected.  Heat  has  the  peculiarity  of  reaching  the 
molecules  of  a  body,  which  it  then  disintegrates, 
pushing  these  minute  particles  apart  into  space. 
From  this  point   of  view  it  has  a  negative  char- 


HEAT.  451 

acter,  being  directed  specially  against  cohesion,  or 
the  unity  of  body.  In  such  a  conception  we  see 
Heat  to  be  a  great  diacosmical  energy,  a  furious 
one  indeed,  veritably  demonic  in  its  disintegration 
of  the  Cosmos. 

It  is  set  down  in  books  on  Physics  that  a  cubic 
inch  of  Matter  holds  100,000  trillions  of  molecules 
— that  being  the  estimate  of  Lord  Kelvin.  A  hun- 
dred thousand  is  a  good  many;  but  add  to  it 
eighteen  ciphers  more,  and  the  arithmetic  soars 
quite  outside  of  mental  grasp.  In  general,  how- 
ever, we  can  conceive  the  extreme  divisibility  of 
Matter,  to  whose  minute  particles  Heat  is  borne  or 
vibrated  by  the  waves  of  the  subtle  fluid  Ether, 
in  whose  ocean  they  li(\  At  once  they  begin  to 
expand  and  to  drive  from  within  outward;  they 
also  become  centers  of  radiating  Heat  into  the  en- 
vironing world;  each  molecule  we  may  imagine  a 
little  sun  throwing  out  its  warmth,  and  thus  get- 
ting its  own  again,  for  originally  it  was  a  hot  gas- 
eous mote  of  the  Heliosphere,  perchance  hundreds 
of  millions  of  years  ago. 

We  m:iy  say  that  Heat  assails  the  constitution  of 
the  material  body,  pushing  apart  its  molecular  con- 
stituents. Chemism  0:1  the  other  hand  assails  the 
composition  of  the  material  bod\',  decomposing  it 
into  its  atomic  elements.  Impact  assails  the  posi- 
tion of  the  material  body;  being  molar,  it  does 
not  properly  touch  the  molecular  constitution  or 
the  atomic  composition  of  Matter.     Still  they  all 


452  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

are  forms  of  Motion  belaboring  Matter,  seeking  in 
some  way  to  undo  it,  but  not  succeeding.  Im- 
pact and  cosmical  Motion  generally  produce 
transposition;  but  Heat  and  diacosmical  Motion 
(oftener  called  Energy)  produce  transformation, 
along  with  change  of  place.  Of  course  the  outer 
molar  collision  of  bodies  can  generate  Heat  which 
causes  their  inner  molecular  separation. 

In  another  aspect  we  can  regard  Heat  as  some- 
thing hberated,  set  free  from  its  bondage  to 
Matter,  against  which  it  reacts.  The  Cosmos  may 
be  deemed  its  prison,  the  Diacosmos  its  freedom. 
Moreover,  it  shows  this  side  of  its  character  by 
raying  forth  into  bodies  and  unchaining  the  fixed 
and  fettered  molecules  there ;  yea  it  releases  itself 
bonded  in  latency  to  cohesive  Matter,  and  then 
waves  forth  from  the  new  center,  as  already 
stated .  There  is  a  striking  analogy  between  the 
human  mind  and  the  Diacosmos  in  this  tendency 
to  freedom.  Periods  as  well  as  men  become  dia- 
cosmical, breaking  loose  from  the  fixed,  the  es- 
tablished, the  transmitted.  The  eighteenth  Cent- 
ury was  noted  for  its  original  work  in  Chemistry 
and  in  Physics;  it  was  truly  a  diacosmical  cent- 
ury, expressing  itself  creatively  in  Natural  Sci- 
ence, which  had  its  counterpart  in  the  political 
and  other  revolutions  of  that  time  of  spiritual 
upheaval  and  liberation.  Men  generally,  and  spe- 
cially the  scientists,  showed  a  diacosmical  con- 
sciousness, which  worked  wonders  on  certain  lines, 


HEAT.  453 

though 'deeply  negative  in  other  ways.  And  that 
mental  movement  has  by  no  means  yet  ended. 

We  think  quantitatively  of  Heat:  it  is  so  much 
and  no  more.  The  earth  is  supposed  to  have  lost 
much  Heat  and  is  still  cooling  off;  one  estimate 
states  that  terrestrial  Heat  is  lessening  at  the  rate 
of  one  degree  in  a  thousand  years.  The  sun,  too, 
is  shrinking  with  the  loss  of  its  Heat  radiated 
forth  into  the  interplanetary,  yea  into  the  inter- 
stellar spaces ;  its  periphery  is  declared  to  be  con- 
tracting ten  inches  a  year  through  the  dissipation 
of  its  expansive  power.  The  solar  reservoir  is 
thus  losing  its  contents.  But  we  may  suppose  that 
what  is  lost  in  one  part  of  the  universe  is  gained 
in  another  part,  for  how  can  it  run  away?  How 
can  anything  get  outside  of  the  universe — outside 
of  that  of  which  there  is  no  outside?  We  may 
also  think  that  the  All-Self  as  separating  or  as 
Nature-making  is  ever  active,  has  to  be  so  in  order 
to  be  itself.  Hence  its  Motion  is  somewhere  in 
the  great  Totahty,  and  simply  cannot  vanish  or  even 
grow  less.  The  so-called  conservation  of  Energy, 
or  better,  of  Motion  implies  this.  The  quantity 
is  the  same,  though  everywhere  undergoing  a 
state  of  change  (see  preceding  p.  82). 

Heat,  as  here  specially  conceived,  has  its  limits 
against  Light  and  also  against  Electricity  and 
Chemism.  Still  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  all 
these  different  stages  have  Heat  behind  them  and 
as  it  were  embracing  them.    Heat  is  therefore  a  kind 


454  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

of  universal  Radiant ;  we  may  regard  it  as  the  origi- 
nal diacosmical  ray,  from  which  the  other  Radiants 
evolve,  out  of  which  they  divide  and  spread  over 
the  before-mentioned  scale  or  common  spectrum  of 
radiation.  Besides  this  universal  phase  of  itself. 
Heat  is  also  particular,  distinguished  specially 
from  the  other  Radiants,  having  its  own  sphere 
and  its  own  distinctive  place  (or  octaves)  on  the 
total  key-board  of  radiation.  In  the  Fluids  we 
may  deem  Heat  to  be  more  or  less  impHcit,  while 
as  the  first  Radiant  it  l^ecomes  explicit,  being  felt 
and  measured  in  its  own  right. 

It  was  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  who  conceived  the 
brilliant  experiment  of  lic|uefying  ice  by  rubbing 
two  pieces  of  it  together  in  an  ice-cold  room  and 
thus  generating  Heat  enough  to  melt  them.  Pre- 
viously Heat  had  been  by  most  scientists  regarded 
as  a  material  clement,  a  subtle  imponderable  fluid 
which  stimulated  the  sensation  of  warmth,  and 
produced  the  well-known  thermal  effects.  But  it 
could  evidently  be  produced  by  mechanical  friction 
which  set  the  molecules  of  the  body  in  motion. 
This  new  sort  of  motion  which  was  evidently  ra- 
diated in  vibrations,  was  indeed  "a  mode  of  Mo- 
tion," or  more  closely,  a  form  of  radiant  Motion, 
truly  a  diacosmical  Radiant,  the  first  the  most  im- 
mediate, and  the  most  common  one  of  them  all. 

In  organizing  the  subject  of  Heat,  we  shall  look 
at  it,  first,  as  it  is  in  itself;  secondly,  in  its  sepa- 
rative or    expanding  effects  upon  bodies;  thirdly, 


HEAT.  455 

in  its  sources  or  generation,   whereby  it  is  seen  to 
return  and  to  produce  its  starting-point. 

I.  Heat,  as  Such.  It  is  often  said  that  we 
cannot  know  what  anything  is  in  itself  {dos  Ding 
a7i  sick)  hut  only  ii>i  phenomenal  phase.  Nature 
undoubtedly  appears,  but  she  cannot  help  showing 
what  she  is  in  her  appearance.  If  she  could  say 
one  thing  and  be  another,  it  were  hardly  worth 
while  to  interrogate  her  about  herself.  Experi- 
ment is  Nature's  cross-examination,  and  science 
takes  for  granted  that  she  tells  the  truth  where  her 
answer  is  fully  given  and  fairly  understood.  It  is 
an  easy  experiment  which  shows  that  Heat  is 
transmitted  in  continuous  lines;  a  screen  inter- 
posed between  you  and  tlie  fire  cuts  off  the 
warmth.  It  passes  through  a  medium  which  is 
perchance  the  air  directly  before  us ;  but  if  we  take 
away  the  air  we  find  that  a  vacuum  is  no  obstruc- 
tion to  Heat.  Moreover,  it  rays  out  from  the  sun 
through  the  cosmical  spaces  in  which  there  is  no 
air  like  ours.  Still  it  has  its  medium,  the  fluid  in 
which  it  is  propagated,  the  Ether,  which,  being 
without  strict  cohesion  and  gravity,  is  infinitely 
responsive  to  the  impress  of  the  ever-radiating 
heat-wave.  The  hot  body,  like  the  sun,  sends  off 
Heat  which  is  a  form  of  Motion;  accordingly  it 
must  send  off  its  own  Motion,  separating  the  same 
from  itself;  indeed  just  this  power  of  self-separa- 
tion is  what  the  sun  primarily  emits  in  Heat. 
Such  is  thermal  radiation,  for  tliis  separative  char- 


456  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

acter  is  what  the  central  luminary  projects  i  . 
Heat.  No  wonder,  then,  that  Heat  is  not  only 
expansive  in  itself,  but  also  expands  everything 
else. 

1.  The  Thermal  Ray.  The  first  conception  under 
radiant  Heat  is  that  it  moves  in  rays  analo- 
gous to  those  of  Light.  Moreover  this  ray  of  Heat 
is  not  hot  in  itself;  it  can  pass  through  the  air 
without  heating  it,  or  without  heating  it  much.  If 
it  weie  a  perfect  medium  it  would  not  be  heated 
at  all,  being  a  pure  transmitter  of  thermal  energy. 
Not  till  the  ray  is  absorbed  by  a  body  and  re-radi- 
ated from  the  same,  is  Heat  manifested.  Appar- 
ently not  till  radiant  Heat  finds  the  material  mole- 
cules and  is  set  to  work,  does  it  show  itself.  It 
must  be  disintegrating  Matter  in  order  to  reveal  its 
character.  The  simple  transmission  of  Heat  through 
the  Ether  does  not  call  it  out,  for  the  medium  offers 
no  resistance.  A  body  docs  not  need  to  burn  or 
be  incandescent  in  order  to  emit  Heat,  a  bottle  of 
hot  water  radiates  Heat  without  combustion.  In 
like  manner  a  ray  of  light  is  not  luminous  in  itself, 
or  rather  in  its  etheric  medium. 

(a)  The  radiation  of  Heat  takes  place  in  all 
directions  from  hot  bodies.  If  we  could  see  the 
rays,  they  would  form  a  gradually  diminishing 
sphere  around  their  center,  as  do  those  of  Light. 
Not  alone  the  sun  but  every  piece  of  Matter  is 
such  a  center  of  heat-radiation  and  is  surrounded 
by  a  sphere  of  heat-rays,  pushing  outward  against 


HE'AT.  457 

cohesion,  against  gravity,  against  Matter  itself. 
This  radiation  is  hkewise  conceived  to  be  recti- 
hnear,  making  straight  for  the  circumference  of 
the  heat-sphere  hke  so  many  radii  of  a  circle. 

(6)  It  is  evident  that  these  heat-spheres  must 
intersect,  each  hot  body  great  and  small  being  the 
center  of  one  such  sphere.  Moreover  some  bodies 
are  hotter  than  others  through  various  causes ;  the 
result  is  an  ever  active  exchange  of  temperatures. 
Thus  there  is  on  our  earth  a  rolling  ocean  of  heat- 
waves which  have  a  tendency  to  seek  a  certain 
level  or  equilibrium  of  temperature.  Each  cold 
body  strives  to  get  its  share  from  the  great  totality 
of  Heat,  whi-ch  is  made  up  from  the  radiation  of 
hot  bodies.  It  has  its  resemblance  to  the  world  of 
traffic  from  wliich  each  person  has  to  supply  his 
wants,  but  to  which  he  must  also  give  his  part. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  these  fluctuations  of 
heat-waves  prescribe  the  limits  on  our  earth  to 
conditions  of  life.  Between  the  freezing  point  and 
boiling  point  of  water — one  hundred  degrees  Centi- 
grade— man  has  his  terrestrial  existence;  not  much 
below  or  above  these  two  points  can  he  hold  out. 
Such  is  the  limited  temperature  in  which  man  has 
so  far  evolved.  Of  course  heat  reaches  far  above 
and  cold  far  below  these  two  boundaries ;  on  other 
worlds  there  must  be  a  new  adjustment,  if  they 
support  life  as  we  know  it. 

(c)  Radiant  Heat  moves  through  space  at  a 
certain  rate  of  diminution :  the  farther  it  passes  from 


458  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

its  heated  surface,  the  less  strong  is  the  heat-wave. 
The  law  is:  the  intensity  of  the  radiation  varies 
inversely  as  the  square  of  the  distance.  At  one 
foot  from  its  source  radiant  Heat  will  be  four 
times  greater  than  at  two  feet.  As  the  periphery 
of  the  heat-sphere  is  extended  there  is  a  greater 
surface  to  be  covered  by  the  heat-ray.  This  law 
of  radiation  calls  up  the  similar  law  of  gravitation, 
which  thus  seems  to  ray  out  (possibly  through  the 
Ether)  and  draw  Matter  together.  But  radiant 
Heat  will  expand  and  separate  Matter,  and  so 
seems  the  counterpart  of  attraction.  But  their 
powers  are  quite  the  same :  each  diminishes  equally 
as  it  recedes  from  its  center. 

2.  The  Thermal  Ray  impinged.  The  impact  of 
the  thermal  Ray  upon  bodies  in  its  path  brings 
out  decisive  characteristics  of  it.  The  colhsion 
with  Matter  makes  it  show  its  true  colors,  so  to 
speak;  as  merely  radiating  unopposed  into  space, 
it  is  brought  to  no  pivotal  test.  What,  then,  will 
the  thermal  Ray  or  the  rolling  heat-wave  do  when 
it  finds  its  way  barred  by  a  piece  of  Matter  which 
may  be  deemed  its  enemy?  One  thing  is  certain: 
a  fight  will  take  place  which  is  indeed  but  another 
phase  of  the  millionfold  struggle  between  Motion 
and  Matter  running  through  all  Nature.  Also  the 
body  struck  will  show  its  character  in  response. 
It  may  reflect  the  Ray  immediately,  flinging  the 
same  back :  it  may  absorb  the  same  and  then  emit 
the  acquired   Heat   anew  in   all  directions;   or  it 


HEAT.  459 

may  transmit    the    same    through   its   own   sub- 
stance. 

(a)  The  impinging  ray  of  Heat  falling  upon  a 
polished  surface  is  largely  reflected  and  the  angle 
of  incidence  is  equal  to  the  angle  of  reflection.  In 
concave  mirrors  Heat  can  be  focused  so  as  to  set 
fire  to  gun-cotton.  By  a  concave  mirror  with 
an  aperture  of  six  feet  silver  has  bceh  melted. 
Buffon,  by  an  arrangement  of  168  mirrors  ignited 
tarred  wood  at  a  distance  of  210  feet,  repeating 
what  Archimedes  is  said  to  have  done  to  the  Ro- 
man fleet  besieging  Syracuse.  Different  metals  at 
the  height  of  their  polish  show  different  powers  of 
reflection.  Brass  is  the  best  reflector;  glass  has 
only  one-tenth  as  much.  Radiant  Heat  glances 
off  almost  entire  from  a  bright  brazen  surface. 
We  have  to  think  that  the  etheric  medium  when 
thermal  finds  it  difficult  to  enter  the  molecular 
structure  of  brass. 

(h)  We  put  together  the  absorption  and  the 
emission  of  Heat,  for  the  law  is  that  bodies  which 
absorb  Heat  best  emit  it  best.  Lampblack  and 
water  arc  set  down  highest  in  the  list  of  thermal 
absorbers  and  emitters;  on  the  other  hand  they 
arc  the  poorest  reflectors.  When  the  heat-ray  is 
reflected  from  a  bright  metallic  surface,  it  is  re- 
fused admittance  to  the  inner  molecules  of  the 
substance;  but  it  is  taken  i:ito  them  by  absorp- 
tion, and  draws  them  apart,  when  it  is  again  rayed 
forth.     Likewise   the    impinging  Ray  is  absorbed 


460  COSMOS  A^D  DIACOSMOS. 

most  completely  if  it  strikes  at  right  angles;  the 
greater  the  inclination  from  the  perpendicular, 
the  less  the  power  of  absorption  in  the  same  ma- 
terial; striking  sidewise  the  heat-ray  glides  off  in 
part. 

(c)  Heat  is  also  transmitted  through  certain 
bodies  with  varying  degrees  of  completeness.  Such 
bodies  have  received  a  special  name  in  view  of 
this  property:  they  are  called  diathermanous. 
Rock-salt  has  the  name  of  being  the  most  per- 
fetly  diathermanous  substance,  not  pure  glass, 
which  is  most  transmissive  to  Light  (or  transpar- 
ent) but  not  to  Heat.  The  opposite  quality  is 
called  athermanous  (seen  in  metals)  and  corre- 
sponds to  opacity  in  the  realm  of  Light.  The 
curious  fact  also  is  noteworthy  that  the  same 
body,  such  as  glass  transmits  heat  differently  ac- 
cording to  the  different  sources  of  its  emission. 
The  heat  of  the  sun,  the  heat  of  a  burning  terres- 
trial body,  and  the  heat  of  a  water-bottle  (or  the 
so-called  Leslie's  cube)  have  not  a  like  capacity 
for  transmitting  themselves  through  a  substance, 
even  when  the  degree  of  Heat  is  the  same.  Thus 
the  heat-ray  itself  seems  to  shift  about  into  a  va- 
riety of  characters,  according  to  its  origin.  The 
medium  (Ether)  bearing  the  thermal  Radiant  is 
diversely  determined  by  the  molecular  constitution 
of  diverse  bodies;  likewise  the  thermal  Radiant 
itself  is  diversely  transmissible. 

Many  are  the  analogies  between  Light  and  Heat. 


HEAT.  461 

We  are  naturally  led  to  ask  whether  the  thermal 
Ray  has  anything  to  corrcsi)ond  to  divisions  of  the 
spectrum  in  Light.  Molloni  has  worlced  in  this 
field  and  finds  different  phases  or  stages  of  the 
thermal  Ray,  seemingly  according  to  their  different 
refrangibility.  These  he  calls  colors  of  Heat  by 
analogy  to  the  spectrum.  Ho  omployod  various 
sources  of  Heat,  as  th;>  sun,  liot  w.iter,  lainp-Hame 
of  different  substances,  heated  platinum  wire; 
these  diverse  rays  he  passed  through  various  sub- 
stances variously  diathermanous,  as  glass,  rock- 
salt,  alum.  But  a  iieat  spectrum  like  the  light- 
specti'um  has  hardly  y(»t  been  constructed,  and 
substances  otlierwise  unknown  but  emitting  Heat, 
cannot  yet  be  detected  by  the  character  of  their 
thermal  Rays.  Possibly  that  will  com?  next,  and 
we  shall  have  a  thermoscope  for  analyzing  the 
heat-rays  from  the  sun  and  stars. 

The  transmission  of  Heat  through  a  diathermanous 
body  is  seen  in  the  lens  which  focuses  Light  along 
with  Heat.  This  is  the  well-known  burning-glass 
which  indicates  that  Heat  undergoes  refraction  as 
well  as  Light. 

Such  are  the  forms  of  the  heat-ray  imi^inged 
upon  bodies:  it  is  reflected,  it  is  absorbed  and 
then  emitted,  it  is  transmitted.  These  may  be 
deemed  its  varied  transformations  by  the  sub- 
stance, which  is  next  to  take  it  up  and  to  trans- 
port it  as  it  is  in  itself. 

3.     The  Thermal   Ray   transported    (conducted). 


462  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

This  means  that  Heat  is  borne  from  molecule  to 
molecule  of  some  substance  which  carries  it  on.  It 
is  different  from  transmission  in  which  the  thermal 
Ray  passes  through  and  out  of  the  molecular 
structure  of  a  body,  leaving  the  latter  quite  as  it 
was.  The  radiation  now  involves  the  material  and 
is  ueemingly  conveyed  by  it.  Various  bodies  are 
variously  gifted  with*  this  power  of  transporting 
Heat,  or  with  conduction  as  it  is  usually  called, 
Metals  are  good  conductors  of  Heat;  it  seems  to 
be  carried  at  once  through  the  cohesive  molecules; 
an  iron  rod  heated  at  one  end  is  soon  hot  at  the 
other.  Wood  'is  a  poor  conductor,  so  are  organic 
substances  generally.  Nature  is  made  up  of  a  vast 
and  varied  conductivity;  bodies  show  their  indi- 
viduality in  this  way  as  well  as  in  reflection  or 
transmission.  Rock-salt  is  not  a  good  transporter 
though  the  best  transmitter  of  Heat.  Brass  if  pol- 
ished is  a  good  reflector,  but  can  be  made  a  good 
conductor  of  Heat.  The  transportation  of  Heat 
through  bodies  is  chiefly  determined  by  their  mole- 
cular constitution,  that  is,  according  as  they  are 
solids,  liquids,  or  gases. 

In  diathermanous  bodies  Heat  seems  largely 
inter-molecular  in  its  activity,  hardly  getting  inside 
the  molecules ;  while  in  good  conductors  it  becomes 
intra-molecular ,  so  that  the  structure  of  the  body 
is  heated  and  expanded. 

{a)  The  difference  in  the  Heat-transporting  ca- 
pacity  of  solids   is  very  great.     Glass  is  as  rigid 


HEAT.  463 

and  cohesive  in  its  way  as  iron ;  yet  the  one  refuses 
ahnost  absokitely  to  carry  Heat,  while  the  other  is 
quite  eager  for  it.  From  a  window-pane  Heat 
glances  off.  and  it  remains  cold  in  a  warm  room ; 
nor  will  it  transport  Heat  from  corner  to  corner  of 
itself.  Cotton  and  wool  are  bad  conductors  of 
Heat,  and  upon  this  quality  depends  one  of  their 
uses  for  clothing.  A  woolen  garment  is  not  strictly 
warm  in  itself;  it  simply  does  not  carry  off  the 
warmth  of  the  human  body.  Every  material  ob- 
ject has  its  attitude  toward  the  transportation  of 
Heat  through  its  varied  molecular  structure;  in 
this  way  it  shows  individuality  as  well  as  in  many 
other  ways. 

(&)  Liquids  have  mobility  of  particles  or  of 
molecules  as  distinct  from  the  cohesion  of  solids. 
As  Heat  expands  bodies  through  the  molecules,  a 
liquid  might  seem  more  amenable  to  it  than  a 
solid.  But  liquids  are  on  the;  whole  bad  conduct- 
ors of  Heat,  the  chief  exception  being  mercury, 
which,  however,  is  a  metal  and  partakes  of  metallic 
conductivity.  Water  can  be  boiled  in  the  upper 
end  of  a  test-tube  while  a  piece  of  ice  remains  un- 
melted  at  the  other  end.  This  means  that  th(> 
Heat  is  not  conducted  downwards.  But  if  the 
water  be  boiled  in  the  lower  end  of  a  test-tube,  the 
heated  molecules  of  the  licjuid  will  rise  to  the  top, 
from  which  the  cold  molecules  will  drop  to  the 
bottom,  become  heated  and  rise  in  their  turn, 
making  a  continual  round.     This  is  called  convec- 


464  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tion;  liquids  are  heated  by  convection;  Heat  is 
conveyed  throughout  the  mass  by  the  foregoing 
molecular  whirl.  Of  course  the  first  Heat  is  im- 
parted to  the  water  through  the  sides  of  the  vessel 
by  a  slight  conduction,  which  then  turns  to  con- 
vection. In  conduction  the  molecules  are  con- 
ceived to  be  fixed  or  rigid,  but  in  convection  they 
are  mobile  and  sent  upward  as  carriers,  and  then 
come  back  when  cooled  and  contracted. 

(c)  Gases  are  composed  of  molecules  not  only 
mobile  but  expansible;  thus  they  are  exceedingly 
responsive  to  Heat.  In  this  capacity  to  expand 
they  are  notably  different  from  water,  for  instance. 
At  the  same  time  they  are  very  bad  conductors  of 
Heat,  though  there  is  a  difference  in  their  conduct- 
ive power,  oxygen  being  nearly  twice  as  good  a 
conductor  as  hydrogen  (according  to  the  Smith- 
sonian tables).  On  the  whole,  substances  with 
greatest  convectivity  have  least  conductivity,  and 
vice  versa ;  silver  and  hydrogen  seem  to  be  the  ex- 
tremes on  each  side.  The  cohesive  and  confined 
molecules  of  the  metal  as  well  as  the  free  and 
elastic  molecules  of  the  gas  transport  Heat  rapidly , 
each  in  its  own  way.  The  thermal  Radiant  with 
its  medium  seems  to  move  unobstructed  through 
the  consecutive  molecules  of  a  silver  wire,  while  it 
is,  as  it  were,  picked  up  and  carried  by  the  gaseous 
molecule.  Liquids  on  the  whole  share  in  both 
conduction  and  convection. 

We  have  now  looked  at  Heat  as  such,  in  and 


HEAT.  465 

by  itself,  as  far  as  this  was  possible.  We  have  seen 
the  thermal  Ray's  first  etheric  radiation  out  of  its 
center  in  all  directions;  then  we  have  watched  it 
impinging  upon  bodies,  and  the  consequent  devel- 
opments of  it  thereby ;  finally  we  have  observed 
its  varied  transference  from  place  to  place  by 
means  of  bodies.  In  this  treatment  the  stress  so 
far  has  been  upon  the  action  of  the  Heat  in  rela- 
tion to  bodies.  But  now  we  shall  consider  rather 
the  action  of  bodies  as  determined  by  Heat;  our 
eye  will  be  chiefly  upon  the  object  affected  by 
Heat. 

II.  Heat  as  the  Expander  of  Matter.  Al- 
ready this  quality  of  Heat  has  had  to  be  repeatedly 
noted  in  various  connections ;  at  present  we  seek 
to  make  it  the  center  of  observation.  Heat  is  pri- 
marily a  separator,  belonging  to  the  separative 
stage  of  the  Diacosmos,  which  is  itself  Nature  in 
her  divisive  mood.  The  expansive  power  of  Heat 
is  a  moving  outward  and  over  the  limit — a  molecu- 
lar separation  of  bodies.  In  the  transference  of  the 
thermal  Ray  we  have  just  seen  Heat  transported 
by  Matter;  but  now  we  are  to  witness  Matter 
transported  by  Heat,  borne  asunder  and  trans- 
formed. Hitherto  the  thermal  Radiant  has  radi- 
ated itself  mainly  upon  and  through  Matter;  next 
it  must  radiate  Matter  too  in  its  waves. 

1.  Cohesive  Molecularity  Expanded.  So  we  des- 
ignate the  first  effect  of  Heat  under  the  present 
head:  it  assails  the  solid  and  drives  its  molecules 

30 


466  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

asunder.  This  force  of  expansion  in  the  solid  is 
very  great  and  has  many  applications  in  the  arts. 
Also  its  counterpart,  the  contraction  of  a  solid 
after  heating,  is  used  in  many  a  mechanical  dex- 
terity. The  engineer  in  his  iron  structures,  such 
as  bridges,  railroad  tracks  and  high  buildings,  has 
always  to  reckon  with  the  metalHc  expansion  and 
contraction  through  the  increase  and  diminution 
of  Heat.  The  presence  and  absence  of  the  sun 
are  marked  more  or  less  distinctly  on  the  faces  of 
all  substances. 

(a)  As  most  structures  of  importance  involve 
the  Hne  more  than  the  soUd,  linear  expansion  has 
been  specially  studied  and  put  into  tabular  form 
by  physicists.  The  need  of  knowing  the  relative 
expansibihty  of  metals  had  been  long  felt,  but 
Lavoisier  and  Laplace  toward  the  close  of  the  18th 
century,  seem  to  have  been  the  first  who  made 
careful  experiments  and  constructed  what  is  known 
as  a  table  of  linear  co-efficients.  A  bar  of  the  sub- 
stance was  put  into  melting  ice  and  then  into  boil- 
ing water,  its  increase  of  length  being  carefully 
measured.  Platinum  was  found  to  be  the  least 
expansible  metal,  and  zinc  the  most  expansible, 
through  the  given  180  degrees  Fahrenheit.  Alloys 
of  metals  seem  to  have  the  power  of  counteracting 
each  other's  expansibihty.  A  French  physicist 
has  discovered  a  combination  of  steel  and  nickel 
(a  httle  over  one-third  nickel)  which  expands  less 
than  one  part  in  a  million,  thus   having  a   hnear 


HEAT.  467 

co-efficient  less  than  one-eighth  of  that  of  platinum, 
(which  is  tabulated  at  l-120000ths)  The  name 
of  this  interesting  alloy  is  invar  from  its  invaria- 
bility in  all  temperatures.  The  gridiron  pendulum, 
composed  of  steel  and  brass  rods  so  arranged  that 
the  expansibility  of  the  steel  downwards  is  counter- 
acted by  that  of  the  brass  upwards,  is  a  contriv- 
ance to  make  the  clock  keep  invariable  time 
through  heat  and  cold.  India-rubber  seems  to 
form  a  curious  exception  among  solids:  a  strong 
tube  of  this  material  heated  inside  with  steam,  will 
actually  contract  and  draw  up  a  heavy  weight  at- 
tached to  the  lower  end.  This  is  the  opposite  to 
what  we  have  observed  in  metals  and  other  sub- 
stances, which  let  out  when  hot  and  draw  up  when 
cold.  Now  the  fundamental  property  of  rubber  is 
just  this  expansibility  in  the  form  of  elasticity. 
What  it  does  of  itself  it  resists  when  done  by  Heat, 
which  in  this  case  counteracts  native  expansibility. 
Or  we  may  say  that  Heat,  separative  in  character,  is 
brought  to  assail  and  overcome  separation  in  one 
instance  at  least.  This  exception  among  sohds  re- 
sembles the-  exception  among  liquids  in  case  of 
water. 

(h)  Heat,  the  expander,  has  the  power  of  trans- 
forming solids.  Not  only  docs  it  cause  a  linear 
and  also  a  cubical  expansion  of  bodies,  but  also  it 
changes  their  form,  and  with  it  their  properties  to 
a  certain  extent.  The  melting  point  of  metals 
varies    much,  and  is    of  greatest   importance  in 


468  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

manufacturing,  since  they  can  be  shaped  according 
to  their  fusibility.  Mercury  is  the  most  fusible  of 
metals,  becoming  solid  at  38  degrees  below  zero 
(Fahrenheit),  while  gold  runs  up  nearly  to  2,000 
degrees  (F.).  Platinum's  point  of  fusing  is  more 
than  fifty  per  cent  higher  than  that  of  gold,  while 
rhodium  is  about  twice  as  high  and  iridium  still 
higher.  Molecular  cohesion  thus  shows  many 
stages  of  resistance  to  Heat,  asserting  the  forms  of 
things  against  its  assault.  Alloys  are  said  to  be 
more  fusible  than  the  metals  composing  them — 
seemingly  a  mark  of  inner  uncongeniality.  Per 
contra  Hquids  are  solidified  by  diminution  of  Heat, 
whereof  examples  are  seen  in  the  freezing  of  mer- 
cury and  of  water.  Finally  Heat  will  not  only 
liquify  but  vaporize  metals  and  other  solids.  The 
surface  of  the  sun  supposed  to  be  14,000  or  15,000 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  is  the  scene  of  a  vast  vapor- 
ization of  metals.  On  the  earth  Heat  has  great 
possibilities  before  it  both  through  increase  and 
diminution — we  have  probably  not  yet  artificially 
produced  its  highest  and  lowest  point. 

(c)  The  expansive  power  of  Heat  has  been  put 
to  use,  or  has  been  made  to  work.  How  can  this 
power  be  measured  and  thus  appHed?  A  pound 
raised  a  foot  requires  a  certain  quantity  of  energy 
or  Heat — such  a  unit  of  measure  is  called  a  foot- 
pound. To  lift  a  pound  weight  772  feet  high,  the 
Heat  consumed  would  raise  a  pound  of  water  one 
degree  (say  from  a  temperature  of   60  to  61  de- 


HEAT.  469 

grees).  This  is  the  unit  of  measure  (called  the 
mechanical  equivalent  of  Heat);  so  n\uch  work 
can  be  done  by  so  much  Heat  measured  by  its  ca- 
pacity of  warming  so  much  water  (the  typical 
liquid)  one  degree.  The  manifold  power  of  Heat 
required  to  expand  many  millions  of  liquid  mole- 
cules is  unified  in  one  power  which  acts  mechan- 
ically. Molecular  energy  is  equilibrated  with  me- 
chanical energy.  A  foot-pound  is  constant,  is  a 
standard — so  much  thermal  energy  cut  off  as  a 
measure.  Two  different  resistances  there  are,  that 
of  the  liquid  and  that  of  the  solid ;  a  quantum  of 
one  iiS  made  to  measure  the  other. 

This  discovery  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
important  in  modern  science.  The  credit  seems 
to  belong  about  equally  to  two  men,  the  German 
Mayer  and  the  Englishman  Joule.  The  practical 
value  of  this  mechanical  equivalent  of  Heat  is  of 
the  greatest  in  our  industrial  world.  Through  it 
is  calculated  the  amount  of  Heat  (or  Energy) 
which,  generated  from  fuel  and  mediated  by  ma- 
chinery, will  do  a  given  quantity  of  work. 

2.  Liquid  Molecularity  Expanded.  Or  as  it  is 
usually  called,  the  expansion  of  liquids  by  Heat. 
The  molecule,  separated  from  but  indifferent  to  its 
neighbor,  is  mobile,  easily  moved  about  by  being 
heated.  This  is  most  commonly  seen  in  the 
ebullition  of  water.  Less  regular  than  solids  is  the 
expansion  of  liquids,  and  ^s  not  linear  (unless  con- 
fined, as  mercury  in  a  tube)   on   account  of  their 


470  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

uncohesive  nature,  but  is  cubical  or  by  volume. 
The  liquid  has  to  be  held  in  a  vessel  which  also 
expands.  Heat  seems  to  work  both  between  the 
molecules  and  also  inside  of  them ;  it  is  both  inter- 
molecular  and  intra-molecular  in  its  action. 

(a)  The  Liquid  in  its  innnediate  form  has  been 
already  considered  quite  fully  (see  preceding  p. 
373  et  seq).  It  may  be  here  stated  that  Hquidity 
comes  originally  from  Heat.  Liquid  water  is  con- 
verted into  a  vapor  by  an  increase  of  Heat;  and 
into  a  solid  by  a  diminution  of  Heat.  The  hquid 
molecules  are  such  through  Heat. 

(6)  Heat  in  general  divides  at  a  certain  line 
into  hot  and  cold,  determined  by  human  sensation. 
Still  such  a  distinction  is  not  simply  subjective; 
Heat  has  its  positive  and  negative  sides,  both  of 
which  affect  the  expansion  of  bodies,  and  espe- 
cially of  Liquids.  Ordinary  heat  and  cold  are 
measured  by  a  column  of  mercury  in  the  ther- 
mometer; but  far  higher  and  lower  temperatures 
have  also  been   measured  by  various  contrivances. 

(c)  Two  Liquids  (or  other  substances)  get  hot 
differently  with  the  same  amount  of  Heat,  for  in- 
stance water  and  mercury.  Hence  the  amount  of 
one  Liquid  heated  one  degree  can  be  taken  as  the 
unit  of  measure,  and  we  have  what  is  kiiown  as  Spe- 
cific Heat.  The  quantity  of  Heat  necessary  to  raise 
one  pound  of  water  through  one  degree  has  been 
taken  as  the  thermal  unit  of  Liquids,  and  a  table 
of    comparative    Specific  Heats    constructed.    A 


HEAT.  471 

striking  peculiarity  of  water  is  that  it  has  a  high 
Specific  Heat.  Its  molecules  respond  more  intensely 
to  the  expansive  power  of  Heat  against  gravita- 
tion than  most  substances.  Water  expands  doubly 
through  heat  and  Ihrough  cold;  as  already  noted 
it  expands  on  both  sides  of  39  degrees  Fahrenheit 
(4  degrees  Centigrade),  at  a  higher  and  a  lower 
temperature. 

3.  Gaseous  Molecularity  Expanded'.  Or  the  ex- 
pansion of  gas,  vapor,  air.  The  molecules  are 
now  repellent,  and  Heat  makes  them  more  repel- 
lent. Hence  expansibility  through  Heat  becomes 
a  decided  property  of  the  gaseous  sphere.  More- 
over great  force  is  engendered  thi'ough  expansion 
of  vapor,  which,  being  harnessed  to  a  machine, 
becomes  of  enormous  service,  as  the  steam  engine. 

A  fundamental  fact  about  the  expansion  of  Gases 
is  that  they  all  expand  equally  or  nearly  so  at  the 
same  degree  of  Heat.  All  Gases  then  expand  for 
one  degree  Centigrade,  367  parts  in  100,000;  or  to 
273  parts  one  part  is  added  through  expansion, 
caused  by  a  degree  of  Heat  (Ganot).  This  same- 
ness is  broken  when  it  comes  to  density,  wherein 
Gases  differ  much.  If  air  is  one,  hydrogen  is  one- 
fourteenth  as  dense,  while  chlorine  is  nearly  two 
and  a  half  times  as  dense,  or  has  so  much  greater 
specific  gravity.  So  in  Gases  weight  is  very  differ- 
ent while  expansibility  is  the  same  practically. 

(a)  Liquids  and  solids  have  a  tendency  to  turn 
to  Gases  in    various  degrees   by  means    of   Heat, 


472  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

which  is  always  present  and  making  itself  valid. 
This  is  known  in  general  as  vaporization,  and  con- 
sumes Heat,  which  makes  the  indifferent  mole- 
cules of  the  Liquid  self-repellent  and  in  so  far  drives 
them  counter  to  gravitation.  But  the  rigid  solid, 
even  the  metals  can  be  vaporized  by  a  sufficient 
degree  of  Heat.  In  the  Sun  the  spectroscope 
shows  metallic  vapors;  indeed  in  the  hottest  stars 
there  would  seem  to  be  a  primordial  vapor  out  of 
which  the  chemical  elements  have  evolved  by  a 
process  of  cooling.  The  nebulae  are  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  constituted  of  hot,  self-luminous  vapor 
which  represents  a  very  early  stage  of  world-mak- 
ing. If  this  be  so,  the  tendency  to  vaporization 
of  substances  at  ordinary  temperatures  i3  a  kind  of 
reversion  to  their  beginning;  they  are  still  seeking 
to  go  back  and  complete  the  round. 

(6)  The  counterpart  to  vaporization  is  liquifac- 
tion,  and  then  solidification.  This  is  accomplished 
generally  by  the  negative  of  Heat,  named  cold, 
which  counteracts  expansion  by  contraction,  and 
seems  to  drive  out  the  inter-molecular  and  intra- 
molecular enemy  of  itself.  Here,  then,  the  mighty 
struggle  between  the  hot  and  the  cold  (of  which  the 
ancient  philosophers  made  so  much)  manifests 
itself  in  a  great  variety  of  forms.  Indeed  Rumford 
claimed  that  there  were  cold-rays  which  could  be 
reflected  and  focused  like  heat-rays.  But  all 
scientists  say  that  cold  is  generated  in  a  substance 
passing  from  the  liquid  to  the  gaseous  state  while 


HEAT.  473 

heat  is  generateu  oy  tne  reverse ;  that  is,  the  latter  is 
released  and  dissipated.  In  this  interplay  between 
cold  and  heat  the  physical  universe  is  always  mov- 
ing and  as  it  were  wrestling;  the  molecular  struct- 
ure is  the  arena  of  conflict,  changing  continually  in 
a  cycle  of  gas,  liquid  and  solid,  receiving  and  expell- 
ing Heat.  Especially  on  our  earth  does  this  give 
rise  to  the  meteorological  process. 

(c)  The  measure  of  Heat  in  all  its  various  rela- 
tions and  applications  has  been  diligently  wrought 
out  by  scientists,  doubtless  on  account  of  its  prac- 
tical importance.  To  find  the  unit  by  which  en- 
ergy of  expansion  and  contraction  may  be  meas- 
ured is  the  object.  Torricelli  made  the  start  when 
he  balanced  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  against 
so  much  mercury ;  Pascal  did  the  same  thing  with 
water.  Then  we  may  take  Boyle's  (Mariotte's)  law 
that  the  volume  a  gas  is  inversely  as  the  pressure ; 
and  hence  the  product  of  the  two  (volume  and 
pressure)  is  a  constant  (not  quite,  but  near  enough 
for  practical  purposes).  Next  comes  Gay-Lussac's 
law  that  all  Gases  expand  equally  with  equal  in- 
crements of  Heat.  Regnault  finally  (after  Dalton, 
Arago  and  others)  measured  the  pressure  of  aqueous 
vapor  at  various  degrees  above  and  below  the  boil- 
ing point  and  constructed  a  table  of  such  pres- 
sures. Thus  the  expansion  of  gaseous  molecules 
by  Heat  has  been  measured,  as  well  as  the  expan- 
sion of  solid  and  liquid  molecules;  wherewith  this 
part  of  the  subject  comes  to  an  end. 


474  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

III.  Heat  Generated.  It  is  pertinent  to  in- 
quire after  the  origin  of  Heat.  Already  it  has 
been  pronounced  to  be  a  mode  or  form  of  Motion, 
which  carries  it  back  to  the  first  manifestation  of 
Nature.  More  intermediately  Heat  has  many 
sources  from  which  it  can  be  produced.  If  the 
molecular  structure  of  the  solid  be  assailed  by 
friction,  by  pressure  or  percussion,  Heat  will  arise. 
We  have  already  noted  that  two  pieces  of  ice 
rubbed  together  in  a  vacuum  below  zero  have  been 
melted  by  the  friction.  Chemical  separation  of 
atoms,  as  in  combustion,  produces  Heat.  When 
the  constitution  of  bodies,  be  it  molecular  or 
atomic,  is  disturbed,  Heat  is  given  off.  Still  such 
Heat  seems  to  be  already  existent,  though  stored 
up  and  latent,  so  we  continue  to  ask  whence  came 
it  originally.  First,  however,  we  may  briefly  class- 
ify its  main  sources  and  then  measure  it. 

1.  Primal  Sources.  These  are  essentially  cos- 
mical  and  are  relatively  persistent.  We  may  here 
first  regard  the  Earth's  Heat,  which  below  the 
depth  of  100  feet  is  said  to  have  an  invariable 
temperature  of  52  degrees.  Before  that  depth  is 
reached,  there  is  a  gradual  increase  from  the  sur- 
face. Still  after  an  invariable  belt  within  the  Earth, 
the  Heat  is  supposed  to  increase  till  the  center  is 
of  molten  material,  somewhat  as  the  whole  Earth 
was  when  ejected  from  the  Sun.  At  that  time  its 
axial  rotation  was  much  faster  than  at  present* 
The  Sun's  Heat  comes  externally  and  its  influence 


HEAT,  475 

is  supposed  to  reach  some  distance  below  the  ter- 
restrial surface,  which  lies  between  two  primal  (or 
cosrnical)  sources  of  Heat,  and  obtains  thereby  its 
thermal  variation.  Both  these  sources  of  Heat 
were  once  united  in  the  Heat  of  the  Heliosphere, 
which  was  itself  probably  derived  from  a  still 
larger  nebula. 

2.  Secondary  Sources.  Any  assault  upon  the 
molecular  structure  of  a  substance  in  one  way  or 
other  calls  forth  Heat.  Such  an  assault  can  take 
place  from  the  outside,  as  friction,  percussion, 
pressure ;  this  may  be  called  a  mechanical  source  of 
Heat.  But  the  assault  may  be  from  the  inside, 
upon  the  molecule  itself  directly;  so  electricity 
(and  probably  light)  generates  Heat — this  may  be 
called  a  physical  source  of  Heat.  Finally  there  is 
the  chemical  source  of  Heat,  manifested  in  the  de- 
composition of  substances,  especit^lly  in  combus- 
tion. 

It  is  evident  that  in  all  these  cases  Heat  is  pro- 
duced in  an  intermittent  finite  manner,  arising  and 
vanishing  according  to  the  conditions.  Thus  it 
goes  a  certain  round  in  a  small  way,  which  round 
is  also  seen  in  the  sun  and  stars  which  increase  and 
decline  in  Heat  with  the  aeons. 

3.  Heat  Measured.  If  Heat  be  a  form  of  mo- 
tion radiating  through  the  Ether,  it  must  have 
its  motion  measured ;  it  moves  through  so  much 
space  in  so  much  time.  Its  constant  is  its  veloc- 
ity, 186,000  miles  per  second;  this  velocity  it  has 


476  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

in  common  with  the  other  radiants,  Light  and 
Electricity.  Its  radiation  becomes  visible  in  the 
red,  which  produces  about  34,000  waves  to  the 
inch;  below  the  red  in  the  universal  spectrum  lies 
the  region  of  dark  heat-waves  (seven  octaves)  or 
of  Heat  proper  as  distinct  from  the  other  Radiants. 
This  is  its  specific  measure  or  differential,  which 
being  multiplied  into  the  constant  or  velocity  per 
second,  gives  about  400  million  millions  of  etheric 
undulations  eveiy  second  to  produce  the  sensation 
of  Heat  which  is  next  to  the  color  red.  This 
tells  the  number  of  heat-waves  at  their  greatest. 

II. 

Light. 

According  to  the  present  way  of  ordering  Nature, 
Light  is  one  of  the  three  Radiants  of  the  Diacos- 
mos.  Moreover  it  is  the  second  one  and  shows  the 
second  stage  or  phase  of  radiation,  of  which  Heat 
is  the  first  and  Electricity  the  third.  It  is  impor- 
tant to  note  the  place  of  Light,  about  which 
physicists  have  been  seemingly  indifferent;  some- 
times they  put  it  first  in  their  books  and  some- 
times third.  But  it  is  properly  the  second  stage, 
and  that  not  by  accident;  it  forms  with  Heat  and 
Electricity,  the  process  of  the  three  diacosmical 
Radiants,  which  has  its  deepest  roots  not  merely 
in  the  realm  ot  Nature,  but  of  Mind,  constituting 
what  in  this  treatise  is  called  a  psychosis. 


LIGHT.  477 

We  are/  then,  to  think  Light  as  separative,  but 
in  its  own  way,  for  we  have  found  many  separa- 
tions in  Nature,  indeed  Nature  herself  is  primor- 
dially  a  separation.  Light  we  call  luminous,  yea 
self-luminous;  it  has  the  peculiar  power  of  mani- 
festing itself  while  it  manifests  other  things.  It 
divides  within  and  ejects  itself  in  order  to  be  itself. 
This  inner  self-division  and  self-radiation  make 
the  basic  character  of  Light;  it  is  the  separative 
Radiant  of  the  three,  self-dividing  and  self-reflect- 
ing; not  only  does  it  radiate  itself  outward  like 
Heat,  but  also  radiates  itself  radiating;  it  is  an 
undulation  indeed,  yet  likewise  it  undulates  itself 
undulating.  Light  reveals,  reveals  the  world,  but 
at  the  same  time  it  is  the  self-re vealer  of  the  Dia- 
cosmos.  This  twofold  character  of  Light  is  fun- 
damental ;  thus  it  is  truly  the  Light  of  Nature,  her 
act  of  self-revelation. 

The  analogy  between  Light  and  Mind  or  Ego 
has  always  been  felt  by  man,  and  has  found  ex- 
pression probably  in  every  language.  This  inner 
diremption  of  Light,  though  a  physical  phenom- 
enon, suggests  the  inner  diremption  of  the  Self  in 
the  act  of  consciousness.  For  the  Ego  also  divides 
within  and  thus  manifests  itself  to  itself;  it  be- 
comes aware  of  the  world  along  with  its  own  self- 
awareness.  In  fact  we  may  deem  Light  the  cen- 
tral form  in  the  total  evolution  of  Nature,  which 
is  now  irradiated  by  it  on  all  sides.  Light  is  the 
center  of  the  Radiants  of  the  Diacosmos,  of  the 


478  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

whole  physical  Order.  In  it  Nature  gets  a  kind 
of  outer  self-consciousness  which  illuminates  both 
her  and  itself.  Metaphorically  Light  is  still  called 
Intelligence,  and  may  have  evolved  it  through  the 
seons.  Light  indeed  we  may  deem  Nature's  pri- 
morcUal  Ego,  individualized  millionfold  in  the  sun 
and  stars. 

But,  coming  back  from  these  far-off  reaches  of 
thought,  we  have  to  connect  Light  directly  with 
its  antecedent,  Heat,  from  which  it  separates 
first,  which  separation  is  always  going  on.  Heat 
must  be  present  with  and  in  Light  that  it  be  sepa- 
rated from  the  same.  Quantitatively  the  separa- 
tion of  Light  from  Heat  is  marked  on  the  spec- 
trum, whose  red  ray  is  set  down  as  having  400  to 
450  millions  millions  of  vibrations  of  the  Ether  per 
second.  Below  the  red  ray  is  the  heat  ray,  non- 
luminous,  unmanifested,  through  not  having 
enough  vibrations.  The  qualitative  difference  seems 
very  sudden  and  striking:  Heat  has  no  power  to 
radiate  itself  radiating,  though  it  radiates  itself. 
The  change  involves  the  triple  capacity  of  Light 
for  manifestation:  (1)  it  manifests  its  source;  (2)  it 
manifests  itself;  (3)  it  manifests  its  opposite  which 
is  non-luminous  Matter. 

Light  like  Heat  is  a  mode  or  form  of  Motion, 
which  connects  it  with  the  starting-point  of  all 
Nature.  We  may  further  consider  Light  to  be  a 
form  of  Motion  separating  from  a  form  of  Matter 
and  showing  both  forms,  namely  itself  and  Matter. 


LIGHT.  479 

Also  we  niay  deem  Light  (like  Heat)  as  a  libera- 
tion— liberation  of  a  force  or  energy  which  rushes 
forth  outward  and  spends  itself  somewhere  in  the 
Cosmos.  It  is  a  liberated  Motion,  previously  tied 
to  Matter  or  imprisoned  in  the  same;  we  may  my- 
thologize  it  as  an  Ariel  pegged  in  a  cloven  pine  by 
some  dark  agency  and  then  set  free  by  a  Prospero. 
So  it  is  a  Radiant  which  not  only  radiates  itself, 
but  at  the  same  time  radiates  itself  radiating, 
illuminates  itself  illuminating,  and  hence  is  self- 
luminous. 

Light  stands  in  most  intimate  relation  to  human 
vision,  but  it  is  not  merely  subjective,  as  has  been 
thought  sometimes.  It  is  objective  also,  existent 
in  the  universe,  indeed  a  necessary  part  thereof. 
Light  we  have  deemed  a  kind  of  Self  in  Nature, 
dividing  within  itself  and  revealing  itself  to  itself 
in  the  course  of  its  own  evolution.  The  inherent 
movement  and  necessity  of  Nature  evolved  Light 
long  before  there  was  any  eye  to  see  it ;  the  sun 
shone  and  the  stars  sparkled  in  and  of  themselves, 
independent  of  the  sense  of  sight,  unless  we  regard 
the  sun  and  stars  as  the  actual  eyes  of  the  Cosmos 
looking  at  itself.  It  has  been  held  that  Light 
evolved  the  eye  of  animate  creatures  for  its  own 
behoof,  in  order  to  see  itself  so  to  speak,  for  it  has 
no  complete  self-reflection  except  through  that  won- 
derful union  of  lens  and  mirror  called  the  eye. 
The  Radiant,  Light,  though  it  radiates  itself  as  radi- 
ating, cannot   completely   turn   about    and  view 


480  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

itself  unless  by  means  of  the  sense  of  sight.  Light 
may  be  said,  therefore,  to  find  its  real  fulfilment 
in  the  living  eye,  which  radiates  it  back  to  its 
source  or  to  itself.  The  candle  before  the  mirror 
can  image  itself  but  cannot  see  itself;  it  can  reflect 
itself  outwardly  but  cannot  reflect  its  own  self- 
reflection,  though  we  may  conceive  it  to  be  striv- 
ing after  such  a  power,  as  all  Nature  shows  a 
similar  aspiration.  Still  Light  is  not  yet  subject- 
ive, though  traveling  thitherward  and  dimly  fore- 
shadowing the  far-off  Ego  coming  on,  whose  deep- 
est trait  is  to  be  self-seeing.  Even  the  living  eye 
cannot  yet  see  itself  without  an  outer  reflector, 
but  it  can  see  Light  reflected  which  cannot  yet  see, 
though  hurrying  to  get  eyesight  with  all  the  speed 
of  its  radiation. 

Coming  back  to  Heat,  we  may  again  glance  at 
Light  rising  out  of  it  and  illuminating  it,  for  it  can- 
not shine  and  show  itself.  We  might  feel  Heat, 
but  we  could  not  know  whence  it  came  without 
Light,  which  therein  reveals  also  its  own  source. 
Heat  is,  accordingly,  immediate  to  sensation,  com- 
ing in  the  dark,  unless  accompanied  by  Light, 
which  performs  again  its  double  task  of  manifest- 
ing its  other  and  itself  at  the  same  time.  Heat 
assails  Cohesion  or  the  molecular  oneness  of  body, 
and  tears  it  to  pieces  often  with  furious  energy. 
In  this  respect  Light  is  different,  it  hardly  opposes 
Cohesion,  but  rebounds  from  it,  turning  back  upon 
itself  without  affecting  seriously  the  material  body 


LIGHT.  481 

which  it  meets.  Its  energy  seems  to  be  chiefly 
spent  in  its  own  self-separating  act  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  is  the  source  of  its  luminosity.  It  rays 
itself  out  instead  of  raying  out  and  expanding  the 
struck  body,  as  does  Heat.  Light  as  radiant  is 
indeed  the  opposite  of  Cohesion,  yet  not  the  vicious 
destructive  foe  of  it,  rending  it  asunder:  rather 
does  it  quietly  manifest  and  acknowledge  the  co- 
hesive body  in  accord  with  its  enlightening  char- 
acter. On  the  contrary  Heat  has  an  angry,  dark, 
demonic  strain  in  comparison  with  Light,  and  car- 
ries its  negation  quite  to  the  point  of  self -negation ; 
passing  a  certain  line  of  intensity  it  passes  from 
darkness  to  luminosity,  from  expanding  a  body  to 
expanding  itself,  radiating  anew  its  own  radiation 
and  so  reaching  manifestation  out  of  its  previous 
unmanifested  and  unmanifesting  state.  Undoubt- 
edly Heat  and  Light  are  usually  found  together, 
but  there  can  be  Heat  without  Light,  and  Light 
without  Heat  as  in  phosphorescence.  Both  are 
Radiants,  but  with  different  endowments;  Heat 
radiates  itself,  but  must  rise  to  radiate  itself  radi- 
ating in  order  to  become  Light.  When  it  divides 
itself  within  and  projects  outward  this  act  of  self- 
division,  it  shows  itself;  it  radiates  itself  inwardly 
but  at  the  same  time  throws  out  this  self-radia- 
tion. From  this  point  of  view  Heat  may  be 
deemed  implicit  Light,  potential  Light  not  yet 
shining,  not  yet  born  but  struggling  for  birth,  for 
manifestation.    Light  like  Heat  is  a  form  of  Mo- 

31 


482  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tion;  it  is  Motion  revealing  itself  in  its  own  move- 
ment; without  Liglit  Motion  could  not  show  itself, 
could  not  be  seen.  So  we  may  say  that  in  Light 
Motion  reaches  the  stage  of  self-illumination,  Mo- 
tion manifests  Motion. 

Light,  like  all  the  Radiants,  rays  out  in  opposi- 
tion to  gravitation,  and  thus  shows  that  it  belongs 
to  the  Diacosmos  generally.  At  the  same  time  it 
cannot  be  said  to  assail  the  unity  of  bodies;  it  is 
not  actively  negative  to  the  attraction  of  the  Cos- 
mos, but  rather  reveals  it  to  itself,  not  merely  to 
our  vision.  Without  Light  the  gravitation  every- 
where so  dominant  in  the  physical  universe  would 
not  be  manifested,  it  would  remain  an  occult  power 
which  had  never  come  to  Light.  No  law  of  gravi- 
tation, even  if  it  dumbly  existed,  could  show  itself 
really,  for  its  Motion  would  have  to  stay  in  the 
dark.  Motion  itself  must  unfold  to  self-manifesta- 
tion in  Light,  which  is  one  of  Motion'  s  forms  or 
stages  for  showing  all  its  other  forms  or  stages. 
Whether  gravitation  is  or  is  not  an  actio  in  distans 
has  been  much  discussed;  for  instance  does  the 
sun  exert  its  power  of  attraction  upon  the  earth  at 
a  distance  without  the  interposition  of  any  medium 
of  impact?  At  any  rate  the  sun  radiates  Light 
into  the  distance  counter  to  gravitation,  doubtless 
through  a  luminiferous  Ether,  and  thus  illuminates 
attraction.  Does  Light  fill  Space?  We  may  say 
that  it  reveals  Space,  for  without  it  Space  would 
be  a  chaotic,  dark  extension  to  us,  and  perchance 


LIGHT.  483 

to  itself.  Light  manifests  what  fills  Space  and  the 
limits  thereof;  it  is  a  shining  omnipresence  but 
without  body,  indeed  bounded  by  body;  it  is  pure 
manifestation  of  Nature,  not  assailing,  not  exclud- 
ing, not  resisting,  completely  penetrable  in  con- 
trast to  Matter.  It  is  just  individual  enough  to  show 
all  individuality,  just  corporeal  enough  to  manifest 
all  body,  just  material  enough  to  reveal  Matter. 
It  radiates  not  merely  itself  but  its  own  self-sepa- 
ration (or  self-radiation)  and  thus  shines,  or  has 
the  luminous  property  by  which  it  not  only  mani- 
fests itself  but  also  its  own  self-manifestion. 

So  we  attempt  to  seize  the  immanent  or  psychic 
character  of  Light  as  distinguished  from  its  phe- 
nomenal side  with  which  the  scientist  specially 
deals.  We  seek  to  assign  Light  to  its  place  in  the 
universe,  to  see  where  it  belongs  in  the  universal 
order,  and  to  express  its  significance  in  some  form- 
ula or  category,  which  may  hint  its  function  in  the 
grand  evolution  of  the  All.  At  the  same  time 
Light  has  its  own  individual  properties  and  charac- 
teristics which  are  to  be  investigated  and  ordered. 

Accordingly  we  shall  first  consider  Light  as  it  is 
in  itself  physically ;  then  we  shall  look  at  it  as  sep- 
arated in  manifold  ways;  finally  we  shall  touch 
upon  it  in  its  generation.  Li  this  brief  account 
many  details  will  have  to  be  omitted,  since  Light 
has  become  a  vast  theme  upon  which  alone  big 
volumes  are  written. 

I,    Light  Ln  Itself.    Already  we  have  sought 


484  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

to  give  some  idea  of  Light  as  a  Radiant  self-lumin- 
ous, borne  in  undulatory  vibrations  through  a  me- 
dium usually  called  the  luminiferous  Ether.  Light 
is  therefore  regarded  as  a  force  working  upon  a 
subtle  fluid,  infinitely  plastic  and  responsive  to  its 
movement.  In  the  history  of  optics  two  theories 
of  Light  have  held  sway.  The  corpuscular  theory 
maintains  that  the  luminous  body  emits  very  small 
particles  which  strike  the  eye  and  stimulate  it  to 
vision.  The  undulatory  theory  holds  that  the 
luminous  body  starts  vibrations  in  the  Ether, 
which  bears  them  by  undulations  in  all  directions. 
The  great  supporter  of  the  former  was  Newton; 
the  latter  was  enunciated  by  Huyghens,  advocated 
by  Young,  but  vindicated  and  confirmed  chiefly 
by  Fresnel. 

1.  The  Luminous  Ray.  Light  is  conceived  to 
be  propagated  in  lines,  each  of  which  is  called  a 
Ray,  or  a  pencil  of  Light  when  several  Rays  are 
put  into  a  kind  of  bundle.  This  conception  is 
useful  for  isolating  a  small  line  of  Light  and  pass- 
ing it  through  an  aperture  for  purposes  of  inves- 
tigation. The  rest  of  the  Rays  being  stopped  by 
an  opaque  body  produce  the  shadow  which  has  an 
important  part  in  the  phenomena  of  Light,  one 
instance  being  the  eclipse  of  heavenly  bodies. 

(a)  Radiation  of  Light  from  a  luminous  body 
goes  out  in  all  directions,  and  in  straight  lines. 
Thus  it  forms  a  kind  of  sphere  with  brilliancy  di- 
minishing from  the  center.    We  must  suppose  that 


LIGHT.  485 

each  ray  sends  off  new  shoots  at  every  point  and 
so  keeps  on  occupying  space,  the  whole  forming  a 
spherical  brush  of  luminosity.  Thus  Light  spreads 
out  and  expands  itself,  but  does  not  expand  bodies 
which  it  encounters,  as  does  Heat.  The  luminous 
ray  keeps  forking  indefinitely  as  it  darts  out  space- 
ward. It  naturally  makes  angles,  with  its  two  ra- 
diating sides,  to  which  the  third  is  added  forming 
a  triangle.  This  triangulation  of  Light  is  what 
makes  it  measurable,  and  was  strikingly  employed 
(first  by  Roemer)  for  measuring  the  velocity  of 
Light. 

(6)  Such  radiospheres  of  Light  from  every 
uminous  center,  great  and  small,  necessarily  inter- 
sect and  produce  in  these  conjoined  parts  an  in- 
crease of  luminosity.  Li  this  case  Light  does  not 
obstruct  Light,  but  aids  its  own.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances  there  is  no  impartation  of  Light  to 
bodies  in  its  field;  thoy  do  not  get  luminous  as 
they  get  hot;  their  molecular  structure  is  not  as- 
sailed and  expanded  by  Light  as  it  is  by  Heat. 

(c)  The  radiation  of  Light  grows  less  strong  as 
it  sweeps  outward  from  its  center.  This  diminu- 
tion proceeds  according  to  the  well-known  law: 
the  intensity  of  the  radiation  varies  inversely  as 
the  square  of  the  distances.  AVe  have  found  this 
same  Law  in  Heat  and  Sound,  and  also  in  Gravi- 
tation. The  ground  of  it  seems  to  be  manifested 
in  Light,  whose  rays  we  have  seen  branching  at 
every  point  as  they  move  outward   and  thus  be- 


486  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

coming  quantitatively  lessened.  Moreover  these 
branches  shoot  out  not  merely  in  a  plane,  but  in 
all  directions,  forming  a  sphere  of  dispersed  Light, 
which  thus  diminishes  not  simply  according  to  the 
distance  but  according  to  the  square  of  the  dis- 
tance, being  spread  over  so  much  surface.  This 
reason  one  thinks  of  transferring  to  the  previous 
cases  of  the  same  sort — Heat,  Sound;  and  possibly 
Gravitation.  The  force  of  all  of  them  moves 
outward,  not  on  lines  in  same  plane,  but  by 
squares  embracing  more  and  more  space.  This 
fact  becomes  luminous  in  Light,  the  revealer;  but 
in  the  other  instances  there  is  no  self-manifesta- 
tion. Light  may  thus  be  said  to  throw  its  illumi- 
nation back  upon  its  dark  predecessors  obeying  the 
same  law. 

2,  The  Luminous  Ray  Impinged.  Light  in  its 
radiation  strikes  upon  the  surface  of  bodies.  The 
result  is  a  collision  but  not  very  serious ;  Light  is 
not  a  fierce  fighter  like  Heat;  it  reveals  but  hardly 
assails  its  opponent.  Thus  the  impact  brings  out 
the  character  of  this  luminous  Radiant  in  various 
ways.  Here  especially  do  we  observe  in  Light  a 
kind  of  peaceful,  contemplative  mood;  Hterally  it 
reflects  upon  an  object,  and  reveals  itself  in  such 
reflection ;  its  function  is  not  to  disintegrate  the 
antagonist  but  to  show  him  as  limited,  as  occupy- 
ing so  much  space  at  a  certain  point. 

(a)  The  reflection  of  Light  follows  in  general 
the  same  Law  as  Heat  and  Sound.     Striking  on  a 


LIGHT.  487 

surface  the  light-ray  is  reflected  and  comes  to  the 
eye  returning  upon  itself  and  thus  gets  manifested, 
visible.  It  is  said  that  the  light  of  the  Sun  trav- 
ersing the  interplanetary  spaces  is  quite  dark,  un- 
revealed,  till  it  strikes  the  earth's  air  and  is  re- 
flected. Light  remains  more  or  less  impHcit  till 
made  explicit  by  reflection. 

(6)  Not  all  the  light-rays  are  reflected  from 
bodies,  some  are  absorbed.  These  rays  seemingly 
vanish,  we  do  not  hear  of  latent  Light,  though  it 
may  in  a  sense  exist.  The  combustion  of  coal  or 
wood  produces  Light  which  was  once  stored  up 
like  Heat.  On  the  other  hand  certain  bodies  emit 
Light  without  incandescence  or  combustion,  as 
is  seen  in  phosphorescence  and  fluorescence. 

(c)  Transmitted  Light  is  observed  in  a  class  of 
objects  known  as  transparent  and  translucent. 
The  property  of  transparency  has  a  great  field  in 
glass  with  its  many  uses.  The  window  pane  which 
lets  Light  into  a  room,  without  allowing  Heat  to  es- 
cape, or  the  rain  enter,  has  a  very  important  place 
in  human  development.  Heat  which  assails  and 
separates  the  molecular  structure  discovers  the 
hard  glass  to  be  very  refractory  and  is  thrown  off; 
but  Light  which  is  inclined  to  leave  the  molecules 
alone  is  congenial  to  glass,  which  finds  its  trans- 
parent character  manifested  only  through  Light. 
Heat  if  transmitted  through  glass  tells  nothing  of 
its  transparency  which  is  its  true  character. 

3.     The  Luminous  Ray   Transferred.     Conduc- 


488  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tivity  of  bodies  has  a  weighty  part  in  the  treat- 
ment of  the  Heat  whieh  can  be  transported  from 
molecule  to  molecule.  Of  course  Light  cannot 
have  much  to  do  with  such  a  property,  as  it  hardly 
affects  molecular  structure.  Light  can  manifest 
cohesion  in  a  body,  but  hardly  breaks  into  it  or 
breaks  it  up.  Solids,  liquids,  gases,  can  not  strictly 
be  said  to  carry  Light  or  to  conduct  it,  even 
if  they  transmit  it  or  rather  allow  it  to  be  trans- 
mitted. Here  then  is  a  striking  difference  between 
Light  and  Heat. 

Still  there  are  a  few  cases  of  the  actual  transfer- 
ence of  Light  as  a  radiant.  The  new  element  Ra- 
dium is  declared  to  transfer  to  bodies  its  power  of 
radiation  of  Light  and  to  emanate  substances  en- 
dowed with  its  own  radio-active  capacity. 

Becquerel  made  the  discovery  that  uranium 
would  emit  rays  spontaneously  without  previous 
exposure  to  the  sun.  It  is  itself  a  kind  of  sun 
shining  by  its  own  radiation,  which  does  not  di- 
minish the  luminous  substance.  It  is  a  new  prop- 
erty of  Matter,  or  Matter  with  its  new  property, 
which  has  been  specially  called  radio-activity.  It 
is  said  that  any  substance  placed  near  radium  ac- 
quires radio-activity  for  hours  and  sometimes  for 
days,  even  after  the  removal  of  the  radium.  This 
is  declared  to  be  the  result  of  the  so-called  emana- 
tion or  gas  of  radium  which  settles  on  bodies  and 
then  leaves  them.  The  x  emanation  produces 
helium,  which  is  set  down  as  a  new   chemical  ele- 


LIGHT.  489 

ment.  So  it  seems  that  the  luminous  ray  has  its 
field  of  transference. 

II.  Light  Separated.  The  ray  of  Light  can 
be  separated  in  various  ways.  First  it  can  be  sud- 
denly tm*ned  from  its  direction  or  broken  cross- 
wise, refracted,  as  the  books  say.  Then  it  can  be 
separated  within,  decomposed  into  colors  which 
are  in  turn  variously  refracted,  produ(;ing  the 
spectrum. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  second  stage  of  Light 
differs  in  character  from  the  second  stage  of  Heat. 
The  latter  shows  its  character  in  expanding  the 
constituent  molecules  of  a  body;  but  Light  on 
the  whole  turns  away  from  an  assault  inwardly 
and  reveals  its  own  constitution. 

1.  Refracted  (broken)  Light.  Every  person  has 
observed  that  a  stick  thrust  into  clear  water  seems 
broken  at  the  line  of  its  entrance.  A  ray  of  light, 
passing  out  of  a  rarer  into  a  denser  medium  or  the 
reverse,  undergoes  refraction,  be  it  from  air  to  water 
or  from  water  to  air.  The  molecular  medium  of 
solid,  liquid,  gas,  determines  the  direction  of  the  im- 
pinging ray;  this  finds  a  new  way  according  to  the 
constitution  of  the  material.  The  waves  of  light 
thus  reveal  the  nature  of  the  medium,  which  can 
determine  it  in  various  manners. 

(a)  Diffraction  is  seen  when  the  light  ray,  after 
passing  through  a  narrow  aperture,  branches  out 
at  every  point  of  the  line.  Light  thus  separates 
within  itself  at  every  point   and  radiates  in  every 


490  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

direction.  It  not  only  propagates  itself  in  straight 
lines,  but  starts  anew  lines  of  propagation.  Light 
shows  this  inner  self-separation,  it  cannot  stay 
with  itself  but  must  thus  ray  out  and  manifest 
itself. 

Diffraction  has  been  specially  studied  by  physi- 
cists since  it  shows  the  phenomenon  of  interference 
of  Light  in  which  Young  and  Fresnel  saw  the 
first  necessity  of  the  undulatory  theory. 

(6)  Many  refractions  can  be  made  to  take  place 
through  variously  shaped  media.-  These  are  usu- 
ally of  glass  and  are  called  lenses,  of  which  a  num- 
ber of  kinds  appear  in  the  books.  They  diverge 
and  converge  Light,  making  its  rays  draw  lines 
which  form  geometric  figures,  and  show  its  mathe- 
matical properties.  One  lens  refracts  many  rays 
to  a  common  point  called  the  focus,  while  another 
lens  can  decentralize  Light.  A  great  variety  of 
optical  instruments  have  as  their  principle  the 
lens;  the  eye  itself  is  such  an  instrument.  The 
light  ray  is  thus  caught  and  controlled.  Its  func- 
tion is  some  sort  of  manifestation,  it  is  to  reveal 
what  is  hidden  in  the  dark.  It  has  become  a  plia- 
ble instrument,  though  it  be  but  an  etheric  wave 
which  radiates  itself  radiating. 

(c)  A  ray  of  Light  can  be  refracted  and  then 
restored  to  its  original  direction.  When  it  is 
passed  obliquely  between  two  parallel  planes,  it  de- 
viates according  to  the  medium,  but  assumes  its 
first  direction  when  it  returns  to  its  first  medium. 


LIGHT.  491 

If  we  look  through  a  glass  this  phenomenon  takes 
place:  a  given  line  of  Light  through  air  to  the 
glass,  then  a  deflected  line  through  the  second  me- 
dium, finally  a  restored  line  when  the  air  is  again 
entered. 

2.  Prismatic  Colors.  The  separation  of  a  light- 
ray  takes  place  lengthwise  as  well  as  crosswise;  or 
as  is  said  usually,  it  is  decomposed  into  colors. 
The  prism  is  used  for  this  purpose,  hence  they  are 
called  prismatic  colors.  This  was  the  famous  ex- 
periment of  Newton  dividing  the  so-called  white 
ray  into  seven  colors  of  different  degrees  of  refrac- 
tion. Thus  it  was  shown  that  the  light  of  the  sun 
which  seems  so  simple  is  really  a  compound. 

(a)  We  find,  then,  that  the  ray  of  ordinary  or 
of  white  light  is  decomposable,  whatever  be  the 
degree  of  its  intensity.  It  grows  less  in  proportion 
to  the  square  of  the  distance  from  its  source;  still 
it  can  always  be  separated  within  or  decomposed. 
After  reflection  or  refraction  it  is  still  a  compound 
borne  by  the  Ether.  Thus  the  Radiant  radiating 
itself  as  radiating  is  internally  divisible,  it  is  made 
up  of  elements.  Light  manifesting  its  opposite  as 
body  manifests  itself  as  luminous;  but  now  this 
luminosity  is  made  to  show  its  inner  character  by 
the  separative  action  of  a  prism.  Are  the  other 
Radiants  thus  decomposable?  At  any  rate  Light 
has  a  chemical  suggestion  in  it,  a  kind  of  labora- 
tory which  analyzes. 

(6)     The   next   fact  is   that   each   of  the  seven 


492  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

prismatic  colors  is  indecomposable,  each  is  an  ele- 
mental product,  comparable  from  this  point  of 
view  to  the  ultimate  element  of  chemistry.  If  one 
of  the  colors  be  isolated  and  passed  a  second  time 
through  the  prism  it  is  not  decomposed,  though  it 
is  still  deflected,  coming  out  a  single  ray  of  the 
same  color.  The  light  from  luminous  bodies  is 
seldom  simple,  but  a  compound.  Now  comes  the 
fact  that  different  bodies  give  rays  of  light  differ- 
ently compounded,  and  hence  they  can  be  identi- 
fied by  their  spectrum  as  far  as  Light  reaches. 
Thus  the  new  chemistry  of  spectrum  analysis  rises. 

(c)  The  recomposition  of  Light  is  effected  by 
uniting  its  original  elements.  This,  too,  was  the 
work  of  Newton.  All  bodies  have  their  relations 
with  Light,  decomposing  it  and  recomposing  it. 
A  green  tree  is  not  green  but  has  the  power  of  de- 
composing Light  and  reflecting  green,  or  reflecting 
yellow  and  blue,  which  compose  green — ^the  other 
elemental  rays  being  absorbed.  Thus  Nature  sep- 
arates Light  with  great  diversity.  Each  body  with 
its  separative  character  shows  the  same  by  way 
it  separates  and  chooses  color.  Thus  something 
characteristic  of  the  body  is  seemingly  uttered  by 
color. 

3.  Light  Separated  as  a  Whole.  We  have  seen 
Light  separated  crosswise  (refraction)  then  we 
have  seen  it  separated  lengthwise  (the  prismatic 
spectrum) ;  now  we  are  to  regard  it  as  a  totality 
separated   from  two   sets   of  etheric  undulations, 


LIGHT.  493 

one  less  in  number  and  one  greater,  or  one  below 
and  one  above.  In  this  way  there  recurs  to  the 
mind  the  conception  of  the  one  common  Radiant 
before  any  differentiation  into  the  three,  or  of  the 
one  universal  Ray  of  the  Diacosmos  which  itself 
separates  into  several  vast  bundles  of  Rays,  such 
as  Heat,  Light,  Electricity,  and  possibly  more. 
Such  an  universal  Ray  has  likewise  its  spectrum 
(often  called  its  scale  or  key-board),  which  may  be 
deemed  the  universal  spectrum,  quite  overarching 
the  whole  Diacosmos. 

(a)  The  total  solar  Ray,  therefore,  shows  itself 
a  very  composite  thing,  composite  not  only  quan- 
titatively but  qualitatively.  It  is  to  be  conceived 
as  a  bundle  not  merely  of  luminous  homogeneous 
elements,  but  also  of  non-luminous  heterogeneous 
elements.  As  a  whole  the  solar  ray  falls  upon  a 
body,  not  only  heating  it  but  working  upon  it 
chemically  and  also  electrically.  The  light  thrown 
upon  a  photographic  plate  will  change  its  chem- 
ical character;  a  ray  of  light  will  explode  chlorine 
gas,  which  seems  to  have  the  power  of  decompos- 
ing the  total  solar  ray  and  selecting  the  chemical 
element. 

(6)  The  inner  qualitative  separability  of  the 
solar  Ray  is,  therefore,  manifested — manifested 
doubly.  It  has  a  chemical  reaction  as  well  as 
heating  power,  along  with  its  luminosity.  It  also 
possesses  the  power  of  transforming  itself  into 
color  by  what  seems  hardly  more  than  a  mechan- 


494  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

ical  separation.  We  have  to  distinguish  between 
the  simple  Hght-ray  with  its  special  properties, 
for  instance  reflection  and  refraction,  and  the 
total  solar  ray  which  along  with  mere  light  has  a 
thermal,  a  chemical,  and  doubtless  an  electrical 
ingredient. 

Here  another  problem  rises.  The  velocities  of 
the  thermal,  '  luminous  and  chemical  undulations 
are  very  different,  and  are  set  down  as  successive 
in  the  spectrum  or  scale  of  the  Radiants.  Still 
they  seem  to  coexist  and  to  act  synchronously  in 
spite  of  their  very  diverse  wave-lengths,  which 
apparently  have  also  a  kind  of  unity  in  the  one 
solar  ray. 

(c)  The  chief  modern  act  in  the  separation  of 
Light  is  what  is  known  as  spectrum  analysis.  The 
Light  passed  through  the  prism,  as  it  comes  from 
different  luminous  bodies,  is  found  to  have  differ- 
ent spectra,  so  that  the  spectrum  becom'es  a  test 
of  the  chemical  composition  of  such  a  body.  So 
we  have  learnt  what  is  burning  in  the  most  dis- 
tant stars.  The  spectrum  is  found  not  to  be  con- 
tinuous in  light  or  color,  but  to  be  crossed  by  a 
great  number  of  dark  lines  more  or  less  narrow. 
The  English  physicists  cannot  get  over  the  fact 
that  the  great  Newton  totally  failed  to  notice 
these  lines.  Some  observers  (for  instance  Wollas- 
ton,  in  1802),  remarked  them  in  a  passing  way; 
but  it  was  left  to  a  German  optician  of  Munich, 
Fraunhofer,  to  study  and  describe  them  in  detail. 


LIGHT.  495 

These  dark  limits  are  chiefly  the  defining  principle 
of  the  spectrum;  they  in  the  main  tell  the  sub- 
stance which  is  sending  out  the  light.  So  the 
spectrum  through  the  Fraunhofer  lines  specializes 
itself  indefinitely.  Light,  being  bounded  within 
itself  by  its  opposite,  darkness,  gets  to  have  a  kind 
of  articulation  (like  speech)  or  a  chain  of  vocables 
which  is  telling  us  much  in  these  days  from  the 
most  distant  spheres. 

III.  Light  Generated.  In  one  sense  it  is 
easy  enough  to  see  Light  generated;  it  can  be 
waked  up  by  striking  a  friction  match.  But 
Light  in  such  a  contrivance  is  only  stored;  what 
made  it  originally?  It  had  to  evolve  in  the  total 
movement  of  Nature  of  which  it  is  a  given  stage ; 
ultimately  it  has  a  psychical  character  which 
must  be  expressed  in  psychical  terms,  if  it  be  cor- 
related with  the  universe.  Yet  Light  has  also  its 
phenomenal  side  which  must  be  described,  tested 
and  measured.  In  this  last  case  it  has  a  number 
of  sources  of  which  a  brief  note  may  be  taken. 

1.  Primal  Sources.  These  are  essentially  cos- 
mical ;  indeed  there  is  required  the  physical  All  to 
produce  one  of  its  parts  or  stages.  The  Earth 
shares  directly  in  the  universal  illumination  which 
the  total  Cosmos  produces  through  its  own  process 
in  order  to  come  to  a  manifestation  of  itself.  The 
world  is  not  only  seen,  but  in  a  sense  sees  itself, 
through  Light.  We  have  to  think  that  the  firma- 
ment beheld  itself  long  before  the  existence  of  any 


496  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

eye,  which  it  probably  helped  to  evolve.  The 
Earth  is  supposed  to  have  within  its  rind  a  good 
deal  of  this  original  Light,  which  bursts  out  in  the 
volcano.  The  Sun  is  still  a  source  of  elemental 
Light  whose  primordial  form  can  probably  be  seen 
in  the  self-luminous  nebula  carrying  us  back  to 
the  Cosmosphere  with  which  Earth,  Sun  and  Stars 
took  start  in  their  evolution.  Light  reveals  and 
in  a  way  associates  the  separated  physical  uni- 
verse, showing  it  in  its  separation  yet  conjoining 
its  parts  in  a  common  medium. 

2.  Secondary  Sources.  These  are  the  ordinary 
modes  of  producing  Light  on  our  earth,  more  or 
less  transient,  in  contrast  to  the  relatively  con- 
stant sources  of  the  preceding  cosmical  illumina- 
tion. Similar  to  the  case  of  Heat,  Light  can  be 
produced  mechanically  by  friction,  also  physically 
through  electricity,  and  chemically  by  combustion. 
The  variety  of  these  sources  of  Light  is  very  great 
and  need  not  be  here  detailed.  Phosphorescence  is 
applied  to  bodies  which  become  capable  of  emitting 
light  with  little  or  no  heat  or  combustion.  The 
phosphorescent  object  is  endowed  with  a  self- 
luminous  power  from  manifold  sources  which  arc 
discussed  specially  by  Le  Bon  in  his  "Evolution  of 
Forces  " 

3.  Light  Measured.  That  Light  moves  at  a 
measurable  speed — so  many  miles  (196,000)  in  so 
much  time  (one  second) — has  been  already  men- 
tioned.   This  measurement  of  Light  was  the  start- 


ELECTRICITY.  497 

ing-point  for  finding  the  velocity  of  other  Radi- 
ants, all  of  which  have  the  same  speed  per  second 
through  the  Ether.  But  this  identity  of  rate  con- 
tains a  great  diversity  of  undulatory  forms;  Red 
has  34,000  waves  to  the  inch,  Violet  at  the  other 
end  of  the  visible  spectrum  has  quite  double  as 
many.  The  corresponding  numbers  of  waves  for 
producing  the  sensation  of  these  two  extreme  col- 
ors are  set  down  as  400  millions  millions  per  sec- 
ond for  Red.  and  800  millions  millions  per  second 
for  Violet.  It  should  be  stated  that  these  meas- 
urements vary  somewhat  in  different  authors;  the 
foregoing  figures  are  Lord  Kelvin's.  The  visible 
spectrum  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  total  spectrum 
of  all  the  Radiants;  above  and  below  are  found 
what  are  called  invisible  rays  of  Light. 

We  have  now  reached  Electricity  which  is  the 
third  Radiant  of  the  present  stage  of  the  Dia- 
cosmos. 

III.     Electricity. 

This  word  we  intend  to  use  in  its  wide  sense 
embracing  Magnetism,  Electricity  proper  (f  rictional) , 
and  Voltaic  Electricity  (chemical).  In  fact  these 
three  divisions  form  the  basic  process  of  the  entire 
subject  and  are  ultimately  to  be  seen  together  in 
their  unity.  Yet  each  of  them  has  its  own  pro- 
cess which  is  to  be  looked  at  by  itself.  First, 
however,  we  may  well  try  to  grasp  the  electrical 
idea  in  its  entirety. 

32 


498  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

The  first  picture  displayed  in  the  books  under 
tnis  head  is  that  of  the  loadstone  attracting  iron 
filings.  This  is  indeed  a  very  suggestive  phenom- 
enon, and  can  be  regarded  as  the  prelude  of 
the  whole  sphere,  forecasting  what  is  to  come. 
There  is  the  new  center  different  from  the  earth's 
center  and  attracting  by  its  own  power  parti- 
cles of  matter  in  opposition  to  gravitation.  That 
at  least  hints  its  diacosmical  character.  Then 
there  are  the  lines  of  filings  which  seem  to  ra- 
diate in  all  directions,  like  rays  of  light  from 
a  luminous  body.  Here  we  behold  the  Radiant 
not  only  manifesting  itself  but  actually  taking- 
on  a  material  form  and  shooting-out  iron  sun- 
beams. But  this  is  not  all.  When  the  particles 
are  free  to  arrange  themselves  according  to 
their  inner  bent,  we  behold  them  forming  curves 
from  one  end  of  the  magnet  to  the  other;  they 
make  circles  of  themselves,  which  strive  to  return 
into  one  another,  and  produce  a  series  of  concen- 
tric rounds  about  the  magnet.  Finally  the  power 
of  radiation  gradully  diminishes  till  it  quite  ceases, 
forming  a  magnetic  field  with  its  bounds.  In 
all  this  there  is  a  surprising  similarity  to  Light 
which  now  seems  to  incorporate  itself,  each  mag- 
net showing  itself  a  little  sun  with  lessening  ra- 
diance from  the   center. 

Many  years  ago  Faraday  observed  what  he 
called  lines  of  force  which  circled  about  a  magnet 
from    its  center    outwards.     This   magnetic   phe- 


ELECTRICITY.  499 

nomenoji  is  indeed  pivotal  and  differs  from  the 
luminous  appearance  which  has  just  preceded. 
There  is  still  radiation  but  the  lines  of  energy  strive 
to  bend  around  into  curves  whose  ends  come  to- 
gether. That  is,  the  Radiant  is  now  self-returning 
and  seeks  to  make  a  circuit  of  itself.  Such  is, 
indeed,  the  pervasive  characteristic  not  only  of 
Magnetism  proper,  but  of  the  whole  sphere  of  Elec- 
tricity. The  radiant  Diacosmos  has  become  cyc- 
lical. 

The  Diacosmos  is  in  general  that  department  of 
Nature  to  which  Electricity  belongs  as  different 
from  and  indeed  opposite  to  the  movement  of  the 
Cosmos.  Electricity  runs  counter  to  gravitation 
and  radiates  in  various  ways;  so  we  must  again 
see  it  as  a  Radiant  pulsing  its  vibrations  in  an 
Ether.  It  is  moreover  the  third  stage  of  the  sec- 
ond or  radiating  Diacosmos,  its  two  antecedents 
being  Heat  and  Light,  with  which  it  forms  a  pro- 
cess, verily  the  total  process  of  the  Radiants. 
Heat  we  have  seen  to  be  an  immediate  forthright 
radiation  of  a  form  of  Motion,  which  takes  the  mole- 
cules of  the  material  body  along  with  it,  thus 
expanding  it  and  often  breaking  it  to  pieces. 
Electricity  will,  we  may  say,  return  to  Heat  and 
generate  the  same  with  an  enormous  energy, 
which  will  liquify  and  even  gasify  the  most  refrac- 
tory substances.  At  the  same  time  Electricity 
will  be  a  marvelous  generator  of  Light,  presenting 
the  world  with  a  new  illumination.    Electric  Heat 


500  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

and  Electric  Light  are  getting  to  be  among  the 
most  important  of  these  kind  of  Radiants,  with 
an  outlook  of  the  vastest  magnitude.  Light,  how- 
ever, radiates  itself,  like  Heat,  outward  and  on- 
ward without  return  to  its  origin,  unless  through 
the  All.  But  the  salient  fact  about  Electricity  is 
that  it  has  the  inherent  tendency  to  turn  around 
into  itself;  if  it  separates  from  itself  and  rays 
forth  (thus  being  a  Radiant)  it  also  wheels  back 
or  strives  to  do  so,  finding  whence  it  came.  Hence 
we  see  the  basic  characteristic  of  Electricity  to  be 
the  circuit. 

The  fact  of  the  circuit,  then,  is  what  permeates 
and  unifies  all  the  diversified  phenomena  of  Elec- 
tricity. This  is  also  what  makes  it  emphatically 
the  third  in  the  order  of  the  three  Radiants,  which 
order,  though  it  shows  the  process  of  this  whole 
diacosmical  sphere  (the  second)  is  too  often  disre- 
garded in  the  books  on  Physics.  Electricity  is, 
therefore,  the  self-returning  Radiant  as  distinct- 
ive, not  merely  the  self-radiating  (like  Heat),  not 
merely  the  self-radiating  and  self-manifesting  (Hke 
Light);  it  is  both  of  these  indeed,  but  likewise 
itself,  being  cyclical  in  its  radiation.  The  arc-light 
illuminating  your  room  is  an  electric  circuit  giving 
off  both  Light  and  Heat. 

Thus  Electricity  thus  performs  a  double  round: 
it  has  its  own  special  circuit,  and  then  it  takes  up 
the  entire  circuit  of  the  three  diacosmical  Ra- 
diants.    In  fact  it  seems  to  go  back  to  the  Cos- 


ELECTRICITY.  501 

mos  and  to  employ  the  attraction  of  bodies  in  a 
new  way,  and  to  combine  it  with  repulsion,  thus 
forming  a  circuit  of  attraction  and  repulsion, 
as  we  see  in  Magnetism.  Of  course  the  power  of 
the  electric  circuit  is  specially  manifested  in  Vol- 
taic or  dynamic  Electricity.  Here  we  see  also 
that  Electricity  is  a  liberation  of  energy  (hke 
Heat  and  Light)  from  its  material  enthrallment, 
but  moves  in  its  own  way  back  to  its  origin  and 
thus  completes  the  purely  emissive  radiation  of 
Heat  and  Light,  which  may  be  even  made  to  ap- 
pear as  parts  of  its  cycle. 

Electricity  is,  accordingly,  a  form  of  Motion,  a 
radiant  form  of  it,  self-separating  yet  also  self- 
returning.  Motion  in  its  primordial  form  we  have 
called  the  Separating  and  Matter  the  Separated; 
the  two  are  opposites,  the  very  dualism  of  Nat- 
ure, whose  process  is  to  unite  them,  to  mediate 
their  conflicts.  In  the  Cosmos  we  saw  Motion  re- 
turning into  itself  in  the  orbits  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  which  it  bore  along  from  the  outside  as  it 
were  in  its  circuit.  Such  was  the  realm  of  gravi- 
tation. But  now  in  the  Diacosmos,  Motion  as 
electric  is  separated  from  dissolving  bodies  (say 
zinc  and  copper  with  acid)  and  radiates  itself  in  a 
circuit;  or  it  vibrates  itself  through  an  Ether 
around  into  its  beginning.  Thus  Motion  as  pure 
and  unbodied  has  revealed  itself  as  cycUcal;  that 
is,  it  does  not  now  carry  its  bodies  along,  as  we 
saw  it  doing  in  the  Systemic  Cosmos,  when  it  bore 


502  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

the  Earth  around  the  Sun,  for  instance.  At 
present  Motion  as  electrical  separates  from  mate- 
rial body,  (though  the  latter  is  still  its  source  and 
support)  and  moves  of  itself  always  around  into 
itself,  showing  doubtless  in  the  smallest  magnetic 
circuit  a  phase  of  the  original  elemental  form  of 
itself  in  its  first  separation  from  the  All-Self.  Thus 
Electricity  we  call  a  form  of  Motion  as  well  as 
Heat  and  Light,  with  which  it  is  correlated  in  the 
one  process  of  the  Radiants. 

And  now  must  take  note  of  what  seems  to  be 
an  exception  in  this  ordering  of  the  Radiants. 
Upon  their  general  spectrum  (or  key-board)  Elec- 
tricity is  placed  lowest,  that  is,  it  has  the  great- 
est wave-lengths.  Much  above  it  is  Heat,  and 
then  follows  Light  (starting  with  34,000  waves  to 
the  inch).  But  above  the  light-ray  is  placed,  not 
the  electric  but  the  actinic  or  chemical  ray.  Thus 
the  scale  of  Radiants  seems  to  be  dislocated.  Still 
there  are  said  to  be  among  these  short  ultra-violet 
rays  some  which  can  be  called  electric.  There  is 
a  good  deal  of  doubt  about  the  X-ray,  but  it  ap- 
pears to  belong  in  the  upper  spectrum.  Even  the 
Hertzian  ray,  usually  set  down  as  very  long,  is 
declared  by  some  investigators  to  have  its  very 
short  counterparts.  Then  the  actinic  ray  may 
well  have  its  electric  part,  since  chemical  action 
produces  and  is  produced  by  Electricity.  Evi- 
dently there  is  much  uncertainty  hanging  over 
this  portion   of  our  subject.    We  may,  however, 


ELECTRICITY,  503 

consider  Electricity  to  have  its  special  place  and 
manifestation  in  the  total  scale  of  the  Radiants, 
but  at  the  same  time  to  be  at  work  in  the  back- 
ground of  the  whole  of  it,  from  top  to  bottom. 
We  have  noticed  something  of  the  same  sort  about 
Heat;  it  has  its  own  field,  yet  is  found  along 
with  the  other  Radiants.  It  would  not  be  sur- 
prising if  Electricity,  though  bounded  specially 
against  Light  and  Heat,  would  turn  out  the  uni- 
versal Radiant  even  by  actual  experiment ;  in  our 
thought  it  is  so  already  as  the  cyclical  or  self- 
returning  Radiant,  completing  and  embracing  all 
three  forms  of  what  we  here  call  the  radiant  Dia. 
cosmos.  Perchance  the  electric  ray  will  yet  be 
found  to  bend  around  from  the  last  octave  to  the 
first  of  that  universal  key-board  of  Heat,  Light 
and  Electricity  (which  the  scientists  have  even 
pictured),  thus  making  the  universal  circuit  of 
this  entire  field.  At  present,  however,  we  must 
})c  satisfied  with  grasi)ing  Electricity  as  endowed 
in  its  own  special  field  fundamentally  with  the  ra- 
diant circuit,  of  which  it  will  show  numerous  forms. 
We  have  already  forecast  the  general  movement 
of  Electricity  in  its  three  stages  of  magnetic, 
frictional  (static),  and  chemical  (Voltaic).  More- 
over we  are  to  see  that  these  stages  are  not  only 
divisions  of  the  subject  but  forma  process  together 
which  unifies  and  orders  electrical  science.  The 
folk) wing  may  be  taken  as  a  brief  outhne  of  its 
movement. 


504  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

1.  Magnetic  Electricity — given  by  Nature  di- 
rectly in  a  physical  object,  and  hence  immediate; 
it  manifests  the  electric  circuit  in  the  most  direct 
sensuous  way. 

2.  Frictional  Electricity — excited  primarily  by 
an  assault  upon  the  molecular  structure  of  the 
body,  or  rather  of  two  bodies;  it  shows  two  kinds 
of  Electricity  and  two  kinds  of  circuits;  it  is  the 
dual  stage  of  Electricity. 

3.  Chemical  Electricity — excited  by  decompo- 
sition of  the  atomic  structure  of  two  substances 
(usually  metals)  which,  however,  unite  in  a  new 
sort  of  electric  circuit,  known  as  Voltaic  (or  Gal- 
vanic) ;  its  power  is  the  greater,  as  its  negative 
might  in  assaihng  the  atom  is  the  greater;  it  also 
returns  to  the  simple  magnetic  circuit  with  mar^ 
velous  results. 

These  designations  spring  from  the  origin  of  the 
different  stages  of  Electricity,  which  can  be  nat- 
ural, molecular,  or  atomic.  But  they  all  manifest . 
some  form  of  the  electric  circuit,  which  is  to  be 
grasped  as  their  common  principle.  (The  word 
static  or  Electrostatics,  as  applied  to  frictional  Elec- 
tricity, which  does  not  stand  still,  is  misleading, 
and  hence  is  to  be  avoided). 

I.  Magnetic  Electricity.  Of  ten  called  simply 
Magnetism,  which  has  long  been  known.  The 
magnet  (or  loadstone)  is  a  product  of  Nature  her- 
self; the  name  is  said  to  have  come  from  Magne- 
sia, in  Asia  Minor.     It  is  an  oxide  of  iron  and  is 


ELECTRICITY.  505 

found  especially  in  the  iron  mines  of  Sweden  and 
Norway.  Thus  Magnetism  is  something  primarily 
given,  not  produced  though  producible,  as  we  shall 
see;  it  is  an  immediate  native  presence  in  Nature, 
and  is  almost  wholly  confined  to  one  material  ob- 
ject, which  has  been  physically  endowed  with  the 
power  of  degravitating  in  a  limited  way  the  sup- 
posed universal  gravitation  of  the  Earth.  Up  to 
a  recent  date  Magnetism  was  treated  as  something 
by  itself  alone,  as  an  isolated  phenomenon;  but  at 
present  it  is  regarded  as  a  stage  of  total  Elec- 
tricity. 

Magnetism  is,  therefore,  an  integrating  part  of 
the  entire  electrical  movement  as  one  of  the  three 
Radiants.  We  may  deem  it  an  implicit  Electric- 
ity, the  first  stage  thereof,  not  yet  manifested  in 
light  or  the  electric  spark  which  is  so  character- 
istic of  frictional  Electricity.  Still  there  is  the 
electric  circuit,  which  shows  not  in  itself  by  be- 
coming luminous,  but  by  its  effect  seen  in  external 
bodies,  as  in  the  case  of  iron  filings.  The  move- 
ment of  Magnetism  may  be  grasped  in  the  three 
main  forms  of  the  magnetic  circuit;  first  is  the 
simple  one,  that  of  radiation ;  second  is  the  circuit 
divided  into  positive  and  negative  poles,  or  polar- 
ized; third  is  the  circuit  restored  and  united — 
which  fact  we  see  in  the  horse-shoe  magnet  with 
its  armature. 

(The  story  of  Mahomet's  steel  coffin  suspended 
by  loadstone   at   ]\Iecca,  also   that   of    the    iron 


506  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

statue  of  Queen  Arsinoe  hanging  from  the  mag- 
netite iron  of  her  temple's  roof,  are  magnetic 
marvels  embodied  in  legend;  the  iron  steed  of 
Bellerophon  galloping  through  the  air  while  up- 
held by  magnets  at  Rhodes,  was  one  of  the  fables 
celebrating  the  wonder  of  Rhodian  art) , 

1,  Circuit  Radiated.  It  has  been  remarked  that 
Magnetism  does  not  show  itself  but  has  to  be 
shown  by  something  else.  The  ordinary  material 
(we  may  repeat)  is  iron  filings  brought  near  the 
ends  of  an  iron  magnet.  These  arrange  themselves 
in  radiant  lines  about  each  end  as  center.  Thus  a 
magnetic  rod  has  two  centers  of  radiation,  both  at 
the  ends,  while  in  the  middle  there  is  no  attraction. 
This  is  called  the  neutral  line.  Thus  Magnetism 
divides  the  one  object  into  two  opposites  centers, 
each  of  which  has  quite  equal  power.  Here  we 
behold  the  first  appearance  of  the  electric  circuit, 
out  of  which  the  other  forms  may  be  considered 
to  evolve.  Noticeable  is  the  fact  of  very  small 
particles  arranged  by  magnetic  force  as  if  they 
might  suggest  the  molecules  in  the  same  activity. 

(a)  Attraction  is  thus  the  primal  category  of 
the  magnet,  as  we  saw  it  to  be  of  cosmical  Mat- 
ter. Every  body  in  the  physical  universe  is  said 
to  attract  every  other  and  to  be  attracted  by  it — 
the  doctrine  of  universal  gravitation.  But  mag- 
netic attraction  is  strangely  confined  to  one  ele- 
ment, namely  iron,  and  this  has  to  be  in  a  certain 
attractive    condition.     Thus  we   behold  iron    at- 


ELECTRICITY.  507 

trading  iron  and  manifesting  such  attraction  de- 
cidedly to  the  senses;  we  may  deem  it  a  kind  of 
concentrated  attraction  in  small  objects,  which 
otherwise  is  dispersed  through  the  entire  material 
world,  and  is  very  slight  except  when  manifested 
in  planets,  sun  and  stars.  Moreover  such  attrac- 
tion spheres  itself  visibly  around  a  center. 

(6)  This  magnetic  attraction  we  are  next  to 
see  dividing  into  two  centers  in  the  magnetized 
bar,  each  end  of  which  radiates  the  power,  and 
draws  the  small  particles  of  iron.  Thus  the  bar  is 
decentered  by  Magnetism,  as  regards .  gravity ;  the 
center  of  gravity  in  the  bar  is  made  indifferent  to 
Magnetism  just  in  the  magnetized  object,  and  is 
sundered  into  two  end-centers.  Herein  we  may 
see  the  one  attraction,  primarily  cosmical,  to  be 
separated  into  two  diacosmical  attractions  of  Mag- 
netism. According  to  the  law  of  gravitation,  the 
iron  bar  should  draw  to  its  center  every  little  bit 
of  iron,  which  attraction  is  infinitely  small;  but 
according  to  the  law  of  Magnetism  the  particles  of 
iron  must  fly  from  the  one  center  in  the  middle  to 
either  center  at  the  end.  Moreover  two  spheres 
appear,  each  being  manifested  visibly  in  the  par- 
ticles around  its  center. 

(c)  Accordingly  around  each  of  these  end-cent- 
ers are  manifested  lines  of  circular  motion,  or  of 
magnetic  force,  as  the  books  say.  If  a  thin  card 
be  placed  upon  a  magnetic  bar,  and  iron  dust  fall 
upon  the  card   through   a  scive,  the   particles  will 


508  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

arrange  themselves  in  curves  around  each  of  the 
end-centers.  This  shows  the  concentric  circuits 
radiating  around  each  of  these  end-centers.  More- 
over these  circuits  reach  out  to  a  circumference  in 
proportion  to  the  power  of  the  magnet  and  to  the 
distance  of  one  end-center  from  the  other,  the  two 
fields  curving  around  into  each  other.  But  the 
main  fact  is  the  central  radiation  and  its  circular 
form.  This  may  be  deemed  the  primal  electrical 
circuit  manifested;  it  is  indeed  magnetic,  but 
Magnetism  is  the  first  stage  of  total  Electricity. 
The  circuit,  the  basic  electrical  phenomenon,  has 
now  appeared.  But  this  visible  radiated  circuit 
dualizes  itself. 

2.  Circuit  Divided  (Polarized).  We  have  just 
seen  the  magnet  divided  into  two  magnets,  each 
of  which  radiates  a  sphere  of  concentric  lines  of 
force.  These  two  end-magnets  were  quite  equal 
and  alike  in  power;  but  now  they  show  themselves 
opposed  to  each  other,  symmetrical  counterparts 
of  the  magnetic  bar.  These  are  called  poles,  each 
of  which  is  placed  near  the  end  of  the  magnetic, 
bar.  The  latter  has  now  three  divisions:  the  pos- 
itive, neutral,  and  negative  portions.  The  two 
poles  are  true  opposites,  each  is  through  the  other, 
neither  can  do  without  the  other.  This  is  strik- 
ingly shown  by  the  fact  that  the  positive  pole 
cannot  be  chopped  off  from  the  negative  pole  and 
be  made  to  stay  with  itself  alone;  the  half  will 
still  have  both  poles. 


ELECTRICITY.  509 

(a)  We  have  already  considered  magnetic  at- 
traction which  is  equal  and  like  as  to  power  in 
both  the  end-magnets.  At  this  point,  however? 
enters  the  fact  of  polarization,  which  involves  re- 
pulsion also;  the  end  magnets  are  opposite  poles 
of  the  one  magnetic  bar.  For  if  a  second  magnetic 
bar  be  brought  near  the  first,  the  like  end-magnets 
will  repel  each  other,  and  the  different  will  attract 
each  other.  Or,  as  the  law  is  usually  given:  poles 
of  the  same  name  repel,  and  of  opposite  name  at- 
tract. It  is  evident  that  the  two  contradictory 
poles  seek  to  come  together  and  form  one  process 
or  circuit.  In  this  way  the  two  magnetic  bars  are 
united  at  both  ends,  and  the  round  is  complete. 
Thus  two  magnetic  bars  may  be  conjoined  in  two 
circuits. 

(6)  The  Earth  is  a  magnet  or  rather  a  kind  of 
magnetic  bar  with  two  end-magnets,  that  is,  with 
two  magnetic  poles,  which  are  not  far  from  the 
geographical  poles.  Consequently  all  magnets  on 
the  earth's  surface,  if  free  to  move,  adjust  them- 
selves to  the  great  terrestrial  magnet,  magnet  of 
magnets  for  us.  Thus  we  have  two  kinds  of  mag- 
nets, the  universal  one  (or  relatively  so)  and  the 
many  particular  ones  scattered  over  the  face  of 
the  earth,  each  of  which  points  its  one  opposite 
pole  to  the  Ngrth-polar  magnet,  the  other  South- 
wards. This  fact  is  utilized  in  the  Mariner's  com- 
pass. Note  that  its  South  pole  as  opposite  points 
Northward,  though  usage  of  speech  calls  it  the 
North  pole  of  the  needle. 


510  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

There  are  many  interesting  facts  in  connection 
with  the  vast  terrestrial  magnet,  which  has  its  own 
movements.  It  deflects  the  needle  from  due 
North  (inclination) ;  it  draws  the  needle  down  more 
and  more  toward  the  perpendicular,  the  farther  it 
is  carried  Northward  (dip) ;  its  horizontal  force  is 
greatest  on  the  Equator.  These  are  all  manifesta- 
tions of  the  universal  magnet  determining  the  par- 
ticular magnets  over  the  whole  earth — the  needle 
being  only  the  example  in  its  free  movement. 
Gravitation  also  draws  the  needle  toward  the 
center  of  the  earth,  while  magnetic  attraction  fur- 
nishes two  new  centers  at  the  ends  of  the  -Earth. 

But  now  comes  the  curious  fact  that  terrestrial 
Magnetism  is  not  a  totahty  but  is  determined  from 
the  outside.     So  it  is  still  in  the  divisive  stage. 

(c)  What  are  known  as  magnetic  storms  are 
seemingly  caused  by  the  Sun,  being  sent  out  from 
its  disturbances,  which  are  supposed  to  produce 
strong  magnetic  circuits  upon  and  around  the 
Earth.  These  often  disturb  the  telegraph  for  in- 
stance. They  are  connected  with  the  solar  spots 
which  seem  to  be  sources  of  radiated  Magnetism 
that  reaches  and  swathes  the  Earth.  The  Sun 
thus  becomes  a  kind  of  magnet  whose  power  ex- 
tends to  the  planets  revolving  and  wrapping  around 
themselves  its  currents.  The  whole  planetary  sys- 
tem is  a  Magnet ;  the  Heliosphere  was  Oxie  with  its 
poles.  Thence  we  advance  to  the  Cosmosphere  or 
total  physical  universe.    These  sun-spots  with  their 


ELECTRICITY.  511 

magnetic  effects  upon  the  Earth  occur  periodically, 
once  in  eleven  years  it  is  estimated . 

So  we  have  perchance  all  Nature  as  one  great 
Magnet,  divided  into  lesser  magnets,  such  as  sun, 
planets,  as  well  as  our  own  earth,  with  its  infinity 
of  magnets.  For  us  the  sun  seems  the  source  of 
Magnetism,  as  also  of  Heat  and  Light.  And  yet 
the  sun,  too,  even  in  its  magnetic  power  may  be 
able  to  make  the  solar  system  a  magnet,  and  it 
may  have  derived  its  IMagnetism  originally  from 
the  Cosmosphere.  This  would  then  be  the  bearer 
of  the  universal  magnetic  circuit  from  which  all 
others  have  been  derived. 

3.  Circuit  Restored.  In  the  preceding  sphere 
we  saw  the  magnetic  circuit  divided,  with  the  two 
poles  as  centers,  each  of  which  was  the  opposite 
of  the  other  and  had  its  own  sphere  of  influence. 
The  next  step  is  that  these  two  separated  and  an- 
tagonistic poles  must  somehow  be  brought  to- 
gether and  conjoined  !n  one  circuit,  which  thus  re- 
stores both  out  of  their  separation,  and  makes 
them  stages  of  one  movement  deeper  and  stronger 
than  either.  The  outcome  of  Magnetism,  there- 
fore, will  be  the  circuit  united  within  itself  and 
moving  through  the  magnetic  body,  its  circular 
activity  having  become  internal  from  its  first  ex- 
ternal appearance  (in  the  iron  filings) . 

(a)  First  we  may  consider  magnetization.  A 
magnet  has  the  power  of  imi)arting  its  i)cculiar 
quality;    magnetism  can   be  transferred  from  one 


512  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

piece  of  matter  to  another.  Iron  or  steel  is  the 
chosen  bearer  of  magnetism  (with  nickel  and 
cobalt),  but  different  specimens  of  iron  and  steel 
show  different  powers  of  receiving  and  retaining 
the  imparted  magnetism.  The  earth  will  magnet- 
ize a  rod  of  wrought  iron  placed  in  the  magnetic 
meridian,  though  such  a  magnet  does  not  last 
unless  hammered  or  twisted.  The  Earth  has  a 
tendency  to  magnetize  all  iron  when  in  the  right 
position  for  the  current.  A  knife-blade  or  needle 
is  magnetized  by  rubbing  it  with  a  magnet.  Elec- 
tric currents  are  the  most  powerful  means  of 
magnetization. 

Indeed  Magnetism  is  a  form  of  magnetic  trans- 
ference from  one  center  through  several  objects. 
A  pair  of  shears  will  pick  up  a  needle  and  hold  it 
by  magnetic  attraction;  the  needle  will  hold 
another  needle,  and  that  another,  and  so  on,  ac- 
cording to  the  power  of  the  magnet.  In  this  case 
Magnetism  shows  itself  radiating  from  a  center  and 
holding  in  a  line  different  objects.  The  same  prin- 
ciple is  what  radiates  the  iron  filings  around  the 
pole  of  a  magnet;  each  particle  becomes  a  magnet 
drawing  and  holding  its  neighbor.  Thus  through 
induction  Magnetism  shows  a  unifying  power  over 
separated  objects,  assimilating  them  and  conjoin- 
ing them  in  a  common  character  and  action. 

(6)  If  we  cut  a  magnetic  bar  into  two  equal 
parts,  each  part  becomes  a  complete  magnet  with 
its  two  poles.     If  then  these  parts  be  still  further 


ELECTRICITY.  513 

dividedj  each  division  and  sub-division  is  a  mag- 
net. We  cannot,  therefore,  separate  one  pole 
from  a  magnet,  making  it  unipolar;  the  positive 
pole  cannot  exist  without  the  negative,  and  vice 
versa.  The  magnetic  body  may  be  divided  in  the 
middle  just  at  the  neutral  line,  still  the  separated 
pole  posits  it  opposite  pole  at  once.  Thus  each  indi- 
vidual body  becomes  a  magnet,  and  the  separated 
ends  as  opposite  poles  attract  each  other.  In  this 
way  Magnetism  is  connected  with  cohesion,  which 
when  broken  through  separates,  and  we  may  say 
individuates  Matter,  each  portion  of  which  can 
become  a  new  body. 

Nay  if  we  carry  out  this  principle  of  division  to 
the  final  unit,  the  molecule  (or  even  the  atom)  we 
may  infer  that  this  too  will  be  a  magnet.  As  all 
matter,  however  rigid,  is  supposed  to  be  discontin- 
uous in  its  molecular  state,  we  have  here  the  con- 
ception of  body  made  up  of  magnetic  molecules, 
trillions  to  the  cubic  inch.  The  theory  of  magnet- 
ization lies  in  the  order  of  these  minute  particles, 
each  of  which  has  its  South  [)olc  and  its  North. 
When  the  opposite  poles  of  these  particles  are  to- 
gether they  are  in  equilibrium,  and  can  constitute 
no  magnet;  but  when  like  poles  are  conjoined  and 
are  deflected  from  the  opposite  ones,  there  is  a 
common  tension  of  them  which  is  manifested  in 
their  Magnetism.  This  is,  then,  not  a  thing,  but 
a  force  springing  from  many  infinitely  small,  mole- 
cular magnets. 

33 


514  .COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

(c)  This  force  separated  and  polarized  in  the 
ordinary  magnet  with  its  positive  and  negative 
poles  is  made  into  a  circuit  when  these  two  poles 
are  brought  together  by  a  mediating  object.  This 
is  best  seen  in  the  horse-shoe  magnet  with  its  arma- 
ture. The  two  opposing  poles  of  a  rod  are  bent 
around  toward  each  other,  then  they  are  connected 
by  a  piece  of  soft  iron.  The  power  of  the  mag- 
netic circuit  is  indicated  by  the  weight  which  can 
be  suspended  from  the  armature  without  breaking 
its  hold. 

We  now  witness  the  double  and  hostile  polar 
circuits  of  Magnetism  reconciled  in  a  common  cir- 
cuit, being  mediated  by  a  sympathetic  metal  of 
the  same  kind,  which  takes  up  into  itself  and  har- 
monizes them  in  and  through  itself.  Thus  Mag- 
netism has  run  its  course,  having  passed  from  its 
outer,  purely  natural,  visible  state  to  its  inner  in- 
visible circuit,  whose  unity  is  shown  in  all  its 
power  by  the  way  in  which  it  binds  to  itself  its 
reconciling  principle,  the  armature,  which  has  be- 
fore it  a  great  destiny.  Thus  we  have  unified,  and 
as  it  were,  internalized  the  first  electric  circuit, 
whose  outer  and  separated  forms  we  have  already 
considered.  The  tension  between  the  two  poles  of 
the  magnet  is  overcome  by  what  may  be  called 
thediamagnet  (armature)  whose  character  is  just 
this  mediational  act.  (The  word  diamagnetism  is, 
however,  employed  in  a  different  connection) .  But 
now  we  are  to  behold  this  one  electric  current  be- 
coming dual  in  a  new  phase  of  electricity. 


ELECTRICITY.  515 

II.  'Frictional  Electricity.  As  distinct  from 
magnetic  or  natural  (spontaneous)  Electricity, 
this  sort  is  artificial,  being  produced  by  fric- 
tion, percussion,  pressure,  fracture,  and  other  me- 
chanical means.  There  is  in  it  a  prevailing  two- 
foldness :  two  substances  are  required  and  must  be 
brought  into  strong  opposition  by  a  mutual  as- 
sault of  some  sort ;  two  opposite  kinds  of  Electric- 
ity are  generated,  with  their  two  circuits.  Electric- 
ity is  thus  dual  in  its  nature  compared  to  Magnet- 
ism, which,  however,  has  its  two  poles  in  the  one 
substance,  each  of  which  remains  self-attractive 
and  does  not  turn  self-repellent.  The  name  is 
taken  from  an  old  Greek  word  electron,  which  in 
the  present  case  means  amber;  this  being  rubbed 
produces  a  peculiar  diacosmical  attraction,  which 
is  said  to  have  been  noticed  by  ancient  Thales, 
the  Milesian  philosopher,  in  the  sixth  century 
B.  C.  The  word  electricity  seems  to  have  been 
first  used  by  William  Gilbert  of  Colchester,  Eng- 
land (1540-1G03)  who  also  has  handed  down  the 
needful  term,  electrics  for  electrified  bodies,  and  who 
clearly  expresses  the  idea  of  an  electrical  force 
{vis  electrica). 

In  Electricity,  therefore,  two  substances  are 
made  to  attack  each  other's  molecular  structure  by 
an  outside  power.  Hence  Electricity  proper  must 
involve  a  movement  and  change  of  the  molecules; 
they  make  two  attacking  armies  in  a  fight  more  or 
less  furious.     Such  is  the  strength  or  intensity  of 


516  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS, 

this  molecular  motion  that  it  draws  light  indif- 
ferent bodies  into  its  whirl,  till  they  in  turn  be- 
come charged  with  combat  and  fly  off  in  opposi- 
tion. That  is,  Electricity  must  dualize  itself,  else 
it  would  be  simple  Magnetism,  which  holds  the 
attracted  body  as  its  own.  The  magnet  is  one, 
but  two  are  the  electr'cs.  If  the  one  magnet  is 
made  two  by  division,  there  are  simply  two  like 
magnets;  if  the  two  electrics  are  made  one  (by 
attraction),  this  one  electric  repels  itself  and  per- 
sists in  being  two.  Such  is  the  basic  phenomenon 
of  the  second  stage  of  Electricity:  the  electric  both 
holds  and  repels  its  own,  itself;  thus  it  reveals  its 
own  inner  self-opposition  as  character.  Inherently 
dual  we  have  to  regard  it;  dialectical  we  may  deem 
it,  manifesting  to  vision  that  dialectic  of  Nature, 
which  has  been  so  often  noted  already.  Still  these 
two  sides  form  circuits,  each  in  itself  and  then  with 
each  other.  Also  the  dielectric  will  appear  in  a 
certain  parallelism  with  diamagnet. 

1.  Radiation.  This  twofold  Electricity  is  a  Ra- 
diant, but  its  radiation  is  not  only  from  two  centers 
but  is  of  two  opposite  kinds.  In  Magnetism  there 
was  radiation  from  the  two  polar  centers,  but  of 
the  same  unrepellent  sort  from  the  same  object; 
but  now  the  radiation  is  of  two  different  sorts 
from  the  two  different  objects.  Two  circuits  of  op- 
posite natures  constitute  the  electrical  interplay, 
which  circuits,  however,  are  at  last  to  be  united. 

(a)     The  primal  fact  then  of  dual  Electricity  is 


electricity:  517 

its  separation  into  two  sorts  which  are  in  two  dis- 
tinct bodies.  This  is  done  chiefly  by  friction, 
which  assails  the  cohesion  of  the  two  bodies;  each 
is  made  the  means  of  destroying  the  molecular 
structure  of  the  other  on  the  surface  by  the  appli- 
cation of  external  force.  When  a  glass  rod  is 
rubbed  by  a  piece  of  flannel,  each  part  will  draw 
to  itself  light  bits  of  silk,  wool,  gold-leaf,  etc., 
which  after  a  brief  contact  are  repelled.  These 
rubbed  substances  also  become  luminous  in  the 
dark  and  give  forth  sparks  of  light.  Here  at  the 
start  is  manifested  a  round  of  attraction  and  re- 
pulsion— a  double  radiation  of  force.  Moreover 
the  terrestrial  attraction  of  the  object  is  overcome 
by  this  new  power  of  a  piece  of  Matter;  cosmical 
gravitation  is  for  a  time  counteracted  by  this  dia- 
cosmical  energy. 

(6)  So  we  behold  electrical  attraction  and  re- 
pulsion, in  which  an  object  is  drawn  from  and 
drawn  back  to  its  line  of  gravity.  Next  we  are  to 
see  that  this  attraction  and  repulsion  is  doubled; 
the  object  rubbed  and  the  object  rubbing  have 
both  this  power.  Thus  the  first  twofoldness  is 
again  made  twofold.  Here  rises  the  conception 
of  two  electricities,  opposite  yet  each  determined 
through  the  other — positive  and  negative  as  they 
are  called;  each  has  its  own  round  of  attraction 
and  repulsion;  the  law  is,  likes  repel  each  other 
while  unhkes  attract  each  other.  Two  sets  of  at- 
traction   and   repulsion   we  observe,  opposite  yet 


518  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

with  a  similar  round  of  the  electric  current.  The 
disturbance  of  corporeal  cohesion  through  friction 
has  generated  within  a  limited  sphere  a  force 
greater  than  the  earth's  attraction. 

(c)  The  lines  of  electric  force  are  conceived  by 
Faraday  to  run  from  positively  charged  bodies  to 
negatively  charged  ones  in  an  electric  field  where 
they  exist.  There  is  a  radiation  outwards  from  a 
positive  center  to  its  opposite,  whereby  the  two 
electricities  are  interconnected  and  form  a  circuit. 
In  such  a  field  too  there  is  what  is  called  an  elec- 
tric potential  which  has  been  compared  with  the 
temperature  around  a  heated  body.  The  law  runs: 
between  two  electrified  bodies  attraction  or  repul- 
sion is  universely  proportional  to  the  square  of 
their  distances.  Double  the  distance,  one-fourth 
the  power.  This  goes  back  to  the  law  of  gravita- 
tion, which  is  for  the  time  supplanted  by  electrical 
attraction  or  repulsion.  Electricity  causes  the 
little  body  within  its  field  of  power  to  take  the 
place  of  the  earth  and  to  attract  (or  to  repel) 
another  body  (not  too  heavy)  according  to  the  law 
of  gravitation.  The  cohesion  of  the  molecules  is 
disturbed  by  the  friction  and  asserts  itself  by 
strong  reaction  toward  unity  (which  is  assailed), 
drawing  into  its  movement  small  light  bodies  not 
far  of!.  Finally,  however,  the  Electricity  spends 
itself  and  equilibrium  with  the  earth  is   restored. 

This  fact  comes  out:  electrical  attraction  and  re 
pulsion  pre-suppose  terrestrial  attraction  as  some- 


ELECTRICITY.  519 

thing  to 'be  overcome  and  supplanted.  The  sus- 
pended pith-ball  which  is  drawn  to  an  excited 
glass  rod  is  carried  out  of  its  line  of  gravity  with 
the  earth's  center  toward  a  new  center.  This  is 
the  diacosmical  action  of  Electricity.  The  pith- 
ball  or  electrifiable  body  gravitates  towards  the 
electric,  as  it  before  gravitated  earthward.  Cos- 
mical  gravitation  becomes  a  diacosmical  gravita- 
tion in  Electricity;  so  we  have  seen  it  also  in  Mag- 
netism. 

2.  Electricity  in  Dual  Circuit.  The  twofoldness 
of  Electricity  has  been  set  forth,  its  tendency  to 
divide  into  two  opposite  forces,  both  of  which 
must  be  deemed  Radiants  against  each  other. 
Sometimes  this  has  been  called  a  decomposition  of 
one  original  compound  force  into  two  elemental 
forces,  as  Light  was  decomposed.  Magnetism  was 
polarized  into  two  end-magnets,  whose  law  was 
like  repels  like  and  attracts  unlike.  This  law 
holds  of  like  electrics,  as  well  as  of  like  magnets. 
But  the  magnet  does  not  impart  its  own  self  and 
then  repel  the  iron  filings  which  stick  fast  and  be- 
come holders  or  conveyers  of  Magnetism.  The 
electric,  however,  attracts  its  other,  then  imparts 
itself  to  the  same,  and  finally  repels  it  as  like. 
This  repulsion  shows  the  movement  from  Magnet- 
ism to  Electricity:  the  magnet  imparts  itself  but 
the  electric  both  imparts  itself  and  repels  itself  as 
like.  This  is  the  point  at  which  we  witness  the 
oneness  of  Magnetism  passing  into  the  doubleness 


520  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

of  Electricity.  Also  the  materials  change;  if  the 
magnetic  object  be  chiefly  one  (iron),  electrics  are 
many  and  of  opposite  kinds,  as  glass  and  gutta 
percha.  Iron  falls  away  and  the  metals,  being 
conductors;  iron  the  magnetic  substance,  is  not 
the  electrical. 

Still  Electricity  has  the  power  of  imparting  itself 
as  dual,  as  attracting  and  repelling  (positive  and 
negative).  Moreover  it  becomes  double-circuited, 
starting  from  either  side  and  going  either  way  in 
its  round.  So  we  have  the  process  in  this  stage: 
conduction  (likeness),  induction  (difference),  unifi- 
cation of  opposites  in  the  circuit,  yea  double 
unification. 

(a)  The  dualism  of  Electricity  primarily  divides 
matter  into  electrical  conductors  and  non-con- 
ductors, which  form  the  present  division  of  sub- 
stances as  regards  their  conveyance  of  electricity. 
Only  the  rubbed  side  of  a  glass  rod  is  electrified, 
the  other  side  not;  hence  it  is  strongly  non-con- 
ductive. On  the  other  hand  metals  at  once  con- 
duct the  Electricity  throughout  their  substance. 
Silver  is  said  to  be  the  best  conductor,  gutta  percha 
the  best  non-conductor;  between  these  extremes 
is  a  great  diversity  of  conductive  power  in  things. 
The  best  manifesters  of  Electricity  are,  therefore, 
the  non-conductors,  and  they  have  it  only  in  the 
rubbed  surface ;  the  unreached  molecules  remain  at 
rest 

But  the  non-conductors  are  still  further  divided 


ELECTRICITY.  521 

into  two  classes — negative  and  positive  electrics. 
The  same  substance  can  be  both,  excepting  pos- 
sibly the  extremes  which  are  usually  set  down  as 
catskin  and  gutta-percha. 

(6)  A  deeper  phase  of  this  self-divisive  Elec- 
tricity is  electrical  induction,  which  occurs  when 
a  charged  conductor  is  placed  near  an  uncharged 
body — separated  from  it  but  in  its  electrical  field. 
The  result  is  Electricity  is  induced  of  the  opposite 
kind,  and  if  the  uncharged  body  be  a  metal  bar, 
each  end  will  also  have  its  charge.  Thus  the 
bar  resembles  a  magnet,  having  its  two  opposite 
poles  of  induced  Electricity.  Induction  is  not 
stopped  by  any  intervening  medium,  though  this 
be  a  non-conductor,  such  as  glass,  if  the  object  be 
in  the  electrical  field.  Thus  Electricity  is  im- 
parted both  by  conduction  and  induction;  still  in 
the  former  case  the  imparting  body  loses  a  portion 
of  its  electricity  but  not  in  the  latter  case.  It  im- 
parts its  own  kind  of  electricity  by  conduction,  the 
opposite  kind  by  induction,  which  fact  separates 
the  electrical  force  again  into  two  phases. 

(c)  From  the  induced  separation  into  opposite 
electrics  there  results  the  recombination  which  makes 
the  circuit.  The  attraction  and  repulsion  of  the  pith- 
ball  came  from  induction.  The  decomposition  into 
the  positive  and  negative  electricity  is  followed  by 
this  recomposition,  which  can  be  made  a  continuous 
round  by  conduction  starting  with  the  one  or  the 
other, 


522  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Thus  we  have  to  conceive  of  two  circuits  accord- 
ing to  the  dual  character  of  Electricity;  which,  as 
the  character  given,  is  what  will  be  imparted. 
Two  decompositions  of  electricity  and  two  recom- 
positions,  not,  however,  back  into  the  original  single 
Radiant,  but  into  two  circuits,  which  also  go  in 
opposite  directions.  Both  these  circuits  can  be 
shown  in  the  Ley  den  jar,  which  has  the  two  op- 
posite electrics  with  their  dielectric  (the  glass  sides 
of  the  jar).  This  dielectric,  however,  does  not 
mediate  (like  the  diamagnet)  but  separates  and 
can  be  broken  by  the  tension  of  the  two  electrical 
foes. 

3.  Electricity  Generated.  We  have  seen  electri- 
city imparted  in  various  ways,  but  how  did  it  start 
or  first  come  into  activity?  In  the  opening  section 
we  took  for  granted  its  origin  from  friction,  or 
from  the  primal  disturbance  of  molecules  on  the 
surface  of  certain  bodies — non-conductors. 

And  this  is  to  be  noted ;  Electricity  is  superficial, 
it  does  not  go  deeper  than  the  skin  of  bodies  when 
it  manifests  itself.  But  in  conductors  it  is  distri- 
buted through  the  whole  body  and  conveyed  away 
in  a  kind  of  stream,  unless  insulated  and  thus 
stopped.  All  electricity  may  be  deemed  frictional 
in  origin,  not  only  by  direct  contact  but  also  by 
impact  of  electric  force  borne  through  space  (or  the 
air)  to  a  body  in  its  field. 

Thus  the  finite  world  of  individual  bodies  rubbing 
and  rasping  against  one  another  becomes  one  vast 


ELECTRICITY.  523 

mass  of  electrics  and  electrifiers,  producing  an  in- 
finite number  of  electrical  circuits.  Mechanical 
impact  in  the  Cosmos  generates  the  Electricity  of 
the  Diacosmos,  and  the  force  of  gravitation  is 
turned  from  the  earth  and  given  its  own  special 
centers  large  and  little.  So  this  present  diacosmical 
Radiant  fills  our  world  and  perchance  the  uni- 
verse with  electric  whirls,  which  spring  from  im- 
pinging or  colliding  matter.  Every  individual 
substance  has  a  kind  of  soul  of  its  own,  which  is 
roused  by  another  substance  assailing  it ;  so  they 
stand  in  antagonism,  but  therein  are  alike  and 
hence  can  be  made  to  come  together. 

(a)  Friction  brings  forth  different  electricities 
(positive  and  negative)  in  the  substance  by  the  use 
of  a  different  rubber.  For  instance  glass  is  negatively 
electrified  by  rubbing  it  with  flannel,  and  positively 
electrified  by  rubbing  it  with  silk.  Per  contra, 
through  the  double  friction  flannel  becomes  positive 
and  silk  negative.  In  like  manner  resin  stroked  with 
india-rubber  is  negative  while  the  india-rubber  is 
positive;  but  if  the  resin  be  rubbed  with  sulphur, 
it  becomes  positive  and  the  sulphur  negative,  which 
however  can  be  turned  positive  by  gutta-percha. 
Thus  all  substances  can  be  made  into  a  line  of 
electrics,  both  positive  and  negative  according  to 
the  rubber.  All  substances  can  be  arranged  into  a 
line  of  clectrifiers  by  friction,  exciting  both  positive 
and  negative  electricity  according  to  the  substance. 
Each  is  an  electrifier  and  an  electrified,  and  each 


524  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS, 

is  an  electrifier  doubly  (positive  and  negative)  and 
each  is  electrified  doubly.  Thus  Electricity  dual- 
izes, yea  doubly  duahzes  our  particularized  Cosmos. 

(&)  Along  with  the  electric  Radiant  is  usually 
evolved  the  two  other  Radiants :  Heat  and  Light. 
Friction  will  likewise  generate  both.  Heat  is  gen- 
erated by  rubbing  the  metals,  but  the  Electricity 
is  mostly  conveyed  away.  Light  appears  when  the 
circuit  is  broken  and  a  non-conductor  inserted,  Hke 
air,  through  which  the  spark  leaps  luminously  to 
complete  the  circuit.  On  a  larger  scale  Nature 
shows  electricity  at  work  during  a  thunder  storm 
with  its  flashes  of  lightning,  evidently  between 
two  huge  electrics  of  opposite  kinds.  In  the  Aurora 
Borealis,  though  the  phenomenon  belongs  to  both 
poles,  the  earth  has  become  a  huge  electric,  prob- 
ably through  friction  of  the  air  and  tides  and 
currents  and  solar  influence  and  its  own  rotary 
motion.  As  there  was  a  terrestrial  magnet,  so  too 
a  terrestrial  electric  is  generated  by  friction  and 
is  made  luminous  by  some  unusual  obstruction. 
The  sun,  too,  is  an  electric,  and  so  was  doubtless 
the  original  Heliosphere. 

Heat,  Light  and  Electricity,  the  three  Radiants 
of  the  radiant  Diacosmos  are  all  separately  generat- 
ed in  the  electric  circuit  and  appear  in  their  own 
form  and  character.  Yet  they  show  themselves 
also  as  parts  and  stages  of  one  process ;  they  make 
up  the  cycle  of  diacosmical  radiation  which  is  thus 
actually  manifested — not  an  hypothesis,  not  a 
thought  merely,  but  a  phenomenal  presentation. 


ELECTRICITY.  525 

This  process  is  what  lay  originally  and  implicitly 
in  the  diacosmical  separation  and  reaction  from 
gravitation.  Motion  as  radiation  from  a  center  has 
vibrated  through  the  Ether  in  Heat  (expansive), 
in  Light  (manifesting,  and  self-manifested),  and 
in  Electricity  (the  self-returning  undulation). 

It  may  be  added  that  Heat  also  generates  Electric- 
ity with  its  circuit — to  which  phenomenon  we 
may  next  pay  a  little  attention.  Such  a  circuit  is 
usually  called  the  thermo-electric. 

(c)  To  make  the  circuit  appear  let  two  metals 
be  taken,  bent  and  l^rought  together  at  their  ends; 
if  one  of  these  ends  is  heated  when  the  object  is 
placed  in  the  magnetic  meridian,  an  electric  circuit 
is  developed  which  can  be  shown  by  a  needle  bal- 
anced on  a  pivot.  This,  the  discovery  of  Professor 
Seebeck  of  Berlin  in  1821,  and  is  the  basic  phenom- 
enon of  the  thermo-electric  circuit  or  of  the  electric 
circuit  generated  by  Heat,  Thus  the  first  Radiant 
(Heat^  is  made  to  produce  the  third,  or  the  third 
is  brought  to  embrace  the  first  in  its  process. 

It  is  evident  that  when  the  metal  is  heated,  its 
electrical  character  is  changed. 

Also  different  metals  are  differently  affected  in 
their  electrical  condition  by  the  same  degree  of 
Heat.  These  thermo-electric  metals  are  also  paired 
off  in  counterparts,  like  zinc  and  copper  in  the  Vol- 
taic cup.  Bismuth  and  selenium  produce  the 
strongest  thermo-electric  current ;  but  for  economy 
antimony  is  most  used.    Every  metal,  however,  has 


526  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

its  thermo-electric  potential  and  can  become  a 
positive  or  a  negative  pole  of  a  circuit  if  connected 
with  another  metal  and  heated  a  little.  Evidently 
such  circuits  are  everywhere  arising  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth  in  the  sun's  rays,  though  they  are  in 
general  very  slight. 

The  power  of  the  thermo-electric  circuit  is  in- 
creased by  the  thermo-electric  battery,  or  the  so- 
called  thermopile  built  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Voltaic  pile  out  of  the  preceding  thermo-electric 
couples.  This  pile  is  named  after  Nobih,  the  in- 
ventor, but  has  never  been  much  employed  in  the 
arts.  The  electromotive  force  of  this  circuit  is  low 
compared  to  a  Voltaic  one:  it  is  chiefly  used  in  de- 
termining the  temperature  of  things  difficult  of  ac- 
cess, as  objects  in  a  furnace.  Melloni  employed  it  in 
his  experiments  on  radiant  Heat  already  mentioned. 

Probably  the  most  important  use  to  which  the 
thermo-electric  circuit  has  ever  been  put,  was  to 
ascertain  Ohm's  law  of  the  strength  of  the  electro- 
motive circuit,  which  is  directly  proportional  to  the 
electro-motive  force,  and  inversely  proportional  to 
the  resistance.  In  this  connection  it  should  be 
noted  that  the  earth  is  a  great  thermo-electric 
battery,  being  diversely  heated  and  cooled  every 
twenty-four  hours.  The  sun  is  always  warming  up 
one  half  more  than  the  other — which  is  the  condi- 
tion of  a  thermo-electric  current  embracing  the 
globe.  Then  we  have  to  conceive  the  vast  number 
of  smaller  circuits  netting  its  surface  everywhere. 


ELECTRICITY.  527 

But  fer  more  powerful  and  important  than  the 
thermo-electric  circuit  is  the  chemico-electric  cir- 
cuit 'which  comes  next  in  order.  Electricity  gen- 
erated from  the  attack  on  the  molecules  by  mere  Heat 
is  weak  in  comparison  to  the  electrical  power  gen- 
erated by  a  dissolution  of  the  atoms  through 
Chemism.  The  separative  might  of  inner  atomic 
disintegration  must  be  deeper,  subtler  and  more 
intense  than  the  outer  assault  upon  the  molecular 
structure,  which  is  indeed  constituted  of  atoms. 
To  this  fact  we  must  now  pay  a  little  attention. 

III.  Chemical  Electricity  (Voltaic). — Here 
we  behold,  first  of  all,  the  pivotal  electric  phenom- 
enon embodied  in  three  substances,  the  two  metals 
and  an  acid,  whose  interaction  forms  the  new  elect- 
ric process  or  circuit.  Electricity,  as  frictional, 
had  its  two  substances  in  opposite  activity;  Elec- 
tricity, as  magnetic,  had  practically  its  one  active 
substance.  Thus  we  grasp  the  three  stages  of 
Electricity  as  manifested  in  body  :  the  simple 
unity,  the  separation,  and  the  restored  unity 
through  the  three-in-one  circuit.  Moreover,  the 
circuit  now  gets  to  be  the  current,  one  .within  as 
well  as  one  without;  also  it  is  atomic  (chemical)  in 
origin  rather  than  molecular  (mechanical). 

So  we  see  that  the  circuit  is  now  expHcit;  the 
dominating  principle  of  the  stages  more  or  less  im- 
phcit  in  magnetism  and  dualized  in  Electricity 
proper,  has  become  real.  Hence  the  circuit  is  now 
said  to  be  continuous  and  not  broken  into  separate 


528  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

discharges,  which  make  a  sudden  circuit  and  then 
stop,  as  indicated  in  successive  claps  of  thunder, 
or  in  the  sparks  of  an  electrical  machine. 

Light  bodies  are  no  longer  specially  attracted ; 
not  so  much  a  radiation  of  power  from  a  center  do 
we  behold,  but  rather  in  a  rounding  line.  The 
magnetic  needle  is  readily  deflected  by  the  circuit, 
but  not  by  the  separate  flash.  We  pass  from  an 
electric  circuit,  intermittent,  ever  breaking  within 
and  dropping  back  into  its  electrics,  to  a  circuit 
broken  only  from  the  outside.  For  this  reason 
the  word  current  is  often  used  in  the  present  part 
of  electricity,  as  if  it  were  a  fluid,  and  not  a  radiant. 
A  spark  is  a  characteristic  of  an  electrical  machine 
hardly  of  the  Voltaic  battery. 

Moreover  the  transmission  of  power  now  becomes 
possible  through  the  permanent  circuit.  The  in- 
termittent nature  of  dual  or  frictional  Electricity 
(even  if  this  might  be  largely  overcome)  precludes 
the  application  of  it  as  an  extensive  motor  agency. 
But  the  present  kind  of  electricity  can  send  power 
to  greater  distances  than  any  other  force,  being 
conducted  by  a  simple  wire,  for  example  in  the 
telegraph. 

The  round  electricity  of  the  current  is  thus  the 
overcoming  of  the  frictional,  separative  Electricity, 
though  here  too  the  circuit  must  be  able  to  be 
broken,  but  it  is  not  to  break  itself. 

Metals  as  conductors  now  play  the  leading  part, 
while  non-conductors,  chiefly  non-metallic  (animal. 


ELECTRICITY  529 

vegetable  and  mineral)  drew  the  attention  in  the 
previous  stage.  Moreover  two  metals  are  usually 
taken  as  oppositcs  or  counterparts;  zinc  and  copper 
for  instance,  are  the  two  mutually  counteractive 
metals  in  the  ordinary  Voltaic  cell  for  producing 
the  circuit.  Frictional  Electricity  was  confined  to 
the  surface  rubbed,  but  Voltaic  electricity  evidently 
reaches  throughout  the  atomic  structure  of  the 
metal  as  a  good  conductor.  So,  metallic  conduc- 
tivity, which  would  thwart  frictional  Electricity  is 
now  seized  upon  and  employed,  instead  of  the  pre- 
vious non-conductivity.  But  it  is  through  this 
metallic  conductivity  that  the  electric  circuit  com- 
pletes itself,  attains  the  end,  we  may  say,  for  which 
it  has  been  struggling,  through  Magnetism  and  dual 
Electricity,  both  of  which  have  circuits,  but  incom- 
plete, partial,  discontinuous. 

We  shall  also  find  that  this  third  or  Voltaic 
Electricity,  connects  with  itself  in  various  ways, 
and  produces  most  of  the  modern  marvels  of  Elec- 
tricity. Employing  some  form  of  the  magnet,  its 
power  is  drawn  off  for  many  purposes.  The  con- 
tinuous circuit  with  steady  energy  is  tapped  in  its 
circular  movement,  and  that  energy  is  directed  in- 
to multitudinous  channels.  Not  only  electrical  but 
all  radiant  motion  has  become  in  A^oltaism  an  ever- 
flowing,  self-returning,  hidden  whirl  of  pure  energy 
resembling  the  primal  movement  of  the  Cosmos,  in 
whose  elemental  revolution  it  may  be  supposed  to 
participate.    The  Voltaic  current  is  a  kind  of  spi- 


530  COSMOS   AND  DIACOSMOS. 

got  or  spile  inserted  in  the  original  reservoir  of  uni- 
versal Motion  of  which  it  draws  off  brief  cycles  for 
human  use. 

This  third  stage  of  Electricity  we  may  divide, 
according  to  its  fundamental  principle  into  the 
three  sorts  of  electric  currents:  the  chemical,  the 
induced  or  duplicated,  the  magnetic.  Here  again 
we  observe  the  inner  universal  process  at  work 
which  organizes  not  only  this  electric  current  but 
all  nature  in  all  its  divisions. 

1.  The  Chemico-eledric  current.  A  pair  of  frog's 
legs,  prepared  for  Galvani's  dinner  by  his  wife,  as 
as  the  story  goes,  was  suspended  on  a  copper  hook 
to  an  iron  railing.  ^Vhenever  one  of  the  frog's  legs 
touched  the  iron,  a  violent  spasm  took  place  which 
attracted  the  attention  of  Galvani,  who,  as  pro- 
fessor of  anatomy  at  Bologna,  held  that  the  source 
of  the  phenomenon  lay  in  the  muscles  of  the  ani- 
mal which  contained  what  he  called  the  vital  fluid. 
This  view  was  contested  by  Alessandro  Volta,  pro- 
fessor of  physics  atPavia,  who,true  to  his  vocation, 
contended  that  the  chief  cause  of  the  phenomenon 
lay  in  the  metals.  A  controversy  arose  which  led 
Volta  to  construct  the  first  battery  (called  wrongly 
Galvanic  often)  and  to  give  a  fair  explanation  as 
far  as  it  went,  of  the  extraordinary  phenomenon. 

(a)  AVhen  Volta  soldered  together  a  plate  of 
copper  and  a  plate  of  zinc,  he  easily  found,  by 
simply  using  his  moistened  finger,  an  electric  current. 
This  did  not    come    directly  from    friction,  and 


ELECTRICITY.  531 

yet  Electricity  was  disengaged.  Volta's  epoch- 
making  theorem  was  that  when  two  heterogeneous 
substances  are  placed  in  contact,  one  of  them  is 
positively  and  the  other  negatively  electrified.  In 
this  lurks  the  idea  of  the  two  metals  as  counter- 
parts in  producing  one  circuit.  Volta  proceeded 
to  multiply  his  electric  couples  till  he  made  what 
is  known  today  as  the  Voltaic  pile.  Between  each 
metallic  pair  he  placed  a  piece  of  cloth  moistened 
with  acidulated  water.  Here  the  acid  enters  and 
with  it  the  idea  of  chemical  action,  which  has  the 
power  of  disengaging  the  electricity  from  the  metals. 
The  latter  have  been  arranged  from  this  point 
of  view  into  two  classes,  electro-positive  and  electro- 
negative. Zinc  and  platinum  (or  possibly  the 
non-metallic  substance  graphite)  stand  as  extreme 
counterparts,  that  is,  as  the  most  electro-positive 
and  themost electro-negative  substances.  Between 
these  is  a  list  of  other  metals  graded  by  their  electro- 
motive power;  each  of  the  latter  might  of  course 
be  one  sort  or  the  other  according  to  its  mate.  So 
we  have  the  kingdom  of  metals  revealing  their 
new  electric  character  through  the  Voltaic  pile. 
(6)  The  Voltaic  circuit  has  the  power  of  decom- 
posing chemical  compounds  into  their  elements. 
This  is  the  so-called  electrolysis,  and  the  substance 
so  decomposed  is  an  electrolyte  in  Faraday's  nom- 
enclature. The  products  of  such  decomposition 
he  named  ions  which  are  two — anion  liberated  at 
the  positive  electrode  (anode),  and  kation,  liberated 
at  the  negative  electrode  (kathode). 


532  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

Through  the  Voltaic  battery  Sir  Humphrey 
Davy  decomposed  potash  and  soda  obtaining  the 
previously  unknown  metals  potassium  and  sodium. 
This  was  the  first  great  act  of  electrolysis,  which 
has  had  many  successors.  Water,  however,  had 
been  decomposed  by  the  battery  before  this  (in 
1800). 

(c)  So  we  have  before  ourselves  the  general 
fact  of  the  Voltaic  battery  with  its  harnessed  power 
of  untold  possibilities.  The  chemico-electric  round 
is  now  completed,  with  its  energy  ready  to  be  tapped 
for  all  dynamic  purposes.  The  chemical  disintegra- 
tion of  the  metals  (the  zinc  especially  is  dissolved) 
has  let  loose  all  the  force  of  cohesion  which  origin- 
ally held  their  atoms  together,  and  this  force  has 
been  gathered  and  consolidated  into  a  self-return- 
ing stream  of  pure  motion,  which  can  be  drawn  off 
by  a  tail-race  (as  it  were)  to  any  mill-wheel.  But 
next  we  are  to  see  this  current  dividing  itself  in  a 
peculiar  way. 

2.  Induced  electric  current.  Induced  Electricity 
as  frictional  has  already  been  noticed.  But  now 
we  are  to  consider  the  continuous  circuit  as  induc- 
ed. This  department  of  electrical  science  was  es- 
pecially cultivated  by  Michael  Faraday,  who  elabor- 
ated and  categorized  its  leading  phenomena.  It 
is  the  divisive  stage  of  the  electric  current,  indeed 
it  is  self-divisive,  with  a  tendency  to  separate  within 
itself.  One  Voltaic  current  will  produce  its  opposite 
in  a  different  wire  of  the  same  field;   then  the 


ELECTRICITY.  533 

current  in  the  same  wire  separates  into  two  oppo- 
site streams.  Yea  we  find  two  currents  attracting 
and  repelling  each  other. 

(a)  The  first  form  in  which  the  present  sort  of 
induction  appears  is  that  of  two  metallic  conductors, 
one  of  which,  being  in  the  magnetic  field  of  the 
other  and  charged  from  a  battery,  will  produce  a 
circuit  in  the  other  by  induction.  Two  coils  of 
wire  of  different  kinds  or  sizes,  insulated  by  a  coat 
of  silk  thread,  but  close  to  each  other  on  the  same 
bobbin  will  show  two  opposite  electric  circuits  by 
the  galvanometer  when  one  of  them  is  electrified. 
Circuit  accordingly  calls  forth  circuit  but  of  the 
reverse  kind,  as  its  counterpart,  in  accord  with  the 
oft-remarked  dual  nature  of  Electricity.  One 
half,  though  a  circuit,  seems  unable  to  exist  with- 
out the  other  half. 

(6)  Now  comes  the  curious  fact  that  a  circuit 
divides  within  itself  by  induction,  and  we  have  the 
phenomenon  known  as  self-induction.  The  coil  of 
wire  on  a  bobbin  is  able  to  induce  in  its  adjacent 
coil  a  new  circuit  alongside  of  and  in  opposition  to 
the  regular  circuit.  This  was  observed  by  Faraday 
and  he  called  it  the  extra  current.  Such  at  least 
is  the  explanation  given  of  the  peculiar  effects  in  a 
certain  class  of  electric  experiments.  Thus  instead 
of  two  opposite  induced  circuits  we  behold  the  same 
circuit  in  two  opposite  induced  streams  or  currents, 
as  if  two  rivers  might  run  along  side  of  each  other 
in  opposite  direction  through  the  same  bed. 


534  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

(c)  Not  only  the  electric  circuit  induces  itself, 
but  also  magnetism  can  induce  it.  If  a  magnet  is 
inserted  in  a  coil  of  wire,  the  galvanometer  indi- 
cates the  presence  of  an  electric  circuit,  but  if  the 
magnet  be  removed  for  a  short  time  and  then  re- 
inserted in  the  coil,  another  circuit  but  the  reverse 
of  the  former  is  induced.  This  change  springs  from 
the  principle  that  Hke  repels  like  but  attracts  the 
unlike.  The  earth  is  a  magnet  as  already  noted; 
hence  it  can  by  itself  develop  the  electric  circuit. 
Faraday  showed  that  by  turning  a  flat  coil  of  wire 
in  a  vertical  plane,  when  this  plane  lay  east  and 
west,  the  current  appeared;  when  turned  north  and 
south,  there  was  the  opposite  current.  No  magnet 
was  present  but  the  earth. 

3.  The  magneto-electric  current.  The  notable 
fact  here  is  that  Voltaism  (as  we  may  call  this  third 
stage  of  the  total  sweep  of  electricity)  returns  to 
the  first  stage.  Magnetism,  whose  final  product  we 
saw  to  be  the  magnetic  circuit.  This  was  realized 
in  the  horse-shoe  magnet  with  its  connecting  arma- 
ture. The  electro-magnet  it  is  now  called,  by  means 
of  which  the  original  magnetic  circuit  is  seized  and 
employed  as  a  constituent  of  a  larger  and  mightier 
circuit,  being  made,  unmade,  and  remade  in  a  new 
cycle  of  electric  energy.  So  we  may  behold,  in 
this  magneto-electric  round,  a  returning  circuit 
from  Voltaism  to  Magnetism,  physical,  indeed, 
yet  also  with  its  psychical  meaning. 

(a)  Already  it  has  been  noted  that  Magnetism 


ELECTRICITY.  535 

can  ev6ke  an  electric  current  by  induction.  On 
the  other  hand  an  electric  current  can  produce 
Magnetism.  Oersted's  discoveiy  was  an  important 
landmark  in  this  field:  it  was,  that  electric  currents 
tend  to  set  the  magnetic  needle  at  right  angles  to 
their  own  direction.  The  next  great  step  was  the 
electro-magnet,  or  the  magnet  produced  or  induced 
by  a  Voltaic  circuit,  which  can  be  successively 
broken  and  closed.  This  is  the  central  principle 
of  the  Morse  telegraph.  The  electro-magnet  also 
plays  a  leading  part  in  the  so-called  dynamos, 
which,  however,  may  be  driven  by  steam  or  water, 
as  well  as  by  the  battery. 

(6)  So  we  behold  the  completed  current  of  the 
Voltaic  battery  working  through  chemical  action, 
upon  the  metals.  Evidenth^,  chemical  decomposi- 
tion is  the  source  of  the  electrolytic  circuit  which 
has  such  a  furious  energy  in  decomposing  chemical 
compounds  into  their  elements.  With  this  work 
of  the  chemico-electric  current  we  begin  to  approach 
chemistry  proper,  which  chiefly  deals  with  the  origi- 
nal, irreducible  elements  of  the  physical  universe. 
The  separative  character  of  Electricity,  with  its  final 
circuit,  has  reached  its  outcome  in  the  ultimate 
separation  of  material  objects,  and  the  radiant 
Diacosmos,  with  its  circular  Radiant,  has  become 
the  divider  of  composite  things  and  has  led  the 
way  into  a  new  science.  Also  the  three  Radiants — 
Heat,  Light,  and  Electricity — have  run  their  course 
and  completed  their  process.     Their  common  dia- 


536  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

cosmical  character  has  been  to  defy  gravitation 
through  radiation.  But  this  opposition  is  now 
radiated  into  all  bodies,  whose  molecular  cohesion 
is  not  merely  assailed  by  Heat,  but  whose  ultimate 
or  atomic  constituents  are  torn  asunder  in  the 
separation . 

(c)  The  various  forms  of  measuring  electric 
energy  have  been  named  after  distinguished  elect- 
ri'^ians  ;  for  instance,  the  ohm  and  coulomb,  the 
ampere  and  the  volt.  But  this  branch  of  the 
present  subject  need  not  be  here  unfolded,  though 
of  great  importance  in  practical  Electricity. 

Here  we  are  brought  to  the  end  of  Electricity, 
having  completed  what  may  be  called  its  scientific 
round  of  three  stages — magnetic,  frictional  and 
chemical.  In  them  we  have  watched  the  evolution 
of  the  electric  circuit  from  its  first  immediate  man- 
ifestation to  its  last  explicit  form.  Moreover  with 
this  conclusion  we  also  wind  up  the  process  of  the 
three  Radiants — Heat,  Light,  Electricity — which 
constitute  the  second  part  of  the  total  Diacosmos. 
In  these  Radiants  we  behold  the  common  radio- 
active principle  manifested  in  their  different 
phases.  The  last  appearance  in  this  sphere  has 
been  the  chemico-electric  circuit,  which,  though  the 
product  of  chemical  dissolution,  produces  in  turn 
chemical  dissolution.  Two  metallic  counterparts 
(say  zinc  and  copper) ,  being  decomposed  specially 
produce  a  circuit  which  has  the  general  power  of 
decomposition.     The  particular  dissolution  of  two 


ELECTRICITY.  537 

substanoes  becomes  through  the  electric  circuit  the 
universal  dissolution  of  all  substances.  Such  a 
universal  separation  of  Matter  into  its  components, 
elements,  atoms,  has  brought  us  into  a  new  stage 
— the  third — of  the  Diacosmos  to  which  we  come 
next. 


538  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS, 

CHAPTER  THIRD. 

THE  CHEMICAL   DIACOSMOS, 

The  first  chemical  fact  is  the  separation  of  the 
physical  universe  into  its  material  elements.  These 
are  now  set  down  at  about  eighty,  though  this 
number  in  different  books  is  somewhat  fluctuating. 
Already  we  have  noted  the  vast  separation  of  Mat- 
ter in  the  Particularized  Cosmos  ;  the  world  of 
things  there  appears  in  its  various  mechanical 
manifestations.  But  now  this  world  of  things 
whose  number  a  scientist  has  dared  hint  as  250,000, 
is  to  be  resolved  into  its  chemical  constituents, 
the  so-called  elements,  which  have  hitherto  been 
deemed  the  ultimates  of  Matter  and  irreducible, 
though  this  transmitted  tenet  of  Chemism  has  been 
recently  assailed,  if  not  in  some  respects  under- 
mined. Still,  the  primary  chemical  idea  is  that  of 
reducing  the  whole  material  universe  into  its  eighty 
irreducible  elements. 

Here,  then,  we  have  to  note  the  diacosmical 
character  of  Chemism.  It  is  inherently  divisive, 
separating  the  already  externally  separated  Cosmos 
into  its  final  constituents.  Still  further,  chemical 
action  assails  the  cohesion  of  bodies  which  we  have 
already  observed  to  be  cosmical.  Then  Chemism, 
with  its  disintegration,  does  not  primarily  obey  the 
law  of  gravitation,  but  rather  counteracts  the  same. 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  539 

We  shall  indeed  see  chemical  attraction,  aflanity, 
re-composition  after  decomposition  ;  still  such  a 
synthesis  is  only  a  part  or  phase  of  the  total  dia- 
cosmical  sweep  of  Chemism. 

At  this  place  we  may  observe  that  the  chemical 
act  goes  back  to  the  soUd,  liquid,  and  gas,  which 
belong  to  the  starting-point  of  the  Diacosmos,  and 
seek  to  separate  them  into  the  elements,  if  they 
be  not  already  elemental  (for  some  substances  in 
the  form  of  solids,  liquids  and  gases,  at  ordinary 
temperatures,  are  chemical  elements).  These  ma- 
terial objects,  as  immediately  given,  are  seized 
upon,  torn  to  pieces,  and  then  re-formed,  perchance, 
into  new  soUds,  liquids,  and  gases,  in  the  chemical 
cycle.  This  process  is  continually  going  on  in 
Nature,  but  tlie  main  fact  for  us  now  is  that  man 
takes  it  and  employs  it  for  his  purpose,  yea,  organ- 
izes its  varied  phases  into  a  science,  one  of  the 
sciences  of  Nature,  known  as  Chemistry.  (The 
word  is  derived  from  the  medieval  alchymistry,  or 
alchemy y  whose  root,  chem,  has  been  traced  back 
to  Greek,  or  more  remotely,  to  Egyptian,  as  its 
source.  E.  von  Meyer,  in  his  History  of  Chemistry, 
affirms  strongly  the  original  right  of  Egypt  to  the 
thing  and  the  name.) 

Chemistry  is,  accordingly,  the  physical  science 
which  has,  as  its  first  (but  not  its  only)  task  to 
find  the  primary  original  units  of  which  all  mater- 
ial existence  is  composed.  This  is  what  our  science 
decomposes  into  its  indecomposable  individuals, 


540  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

each  of  which  is  itself  and  none  other;  each  ele- 
ment is  simple,  irreducible,  asserting  its  individual- 
ity as  final  against  all  further  separating  processes. 
Thus  it  is  as  an  element  though  not  as  matter,  the 
inseparable,  the  limit  to  diacosmical  separation. 
From  this  point  a  new  stage  opens  ;  the  chemical 
synthesis  begins  to  take  place,  the  elements  as  in- 
decomposable are  united  into  compounds,  so  that 
decomposition,  being  halted,  starts  toward  recom- 
position. 

ThusChemism,  having  gone  back  to  solid,  liquid, 
and  gas,  which  were  found  already  or  were  taken 
for  granted  in  the  first  or  immediate  stage  of  the 
Diacosmos,  has  elementalizcd  them  into  their  orig- 
inal components,  and  then  has  proceeded  to  recon- 
stitute these  components  into  new  solids,  liquids, 
and  gases,  which  are  now  of  its  own  make.  So 
we  behold  in  this  field  a  perpetual  reconstruction 
of  the  material  forms  already  constructed;  the 
made  world  is  always  being  re-made  chemically  as 
well  as  otherwise,  the  physical  constitution  of  ex- 
istence moves  in  an  everlasting  cycle  of  reconsti- 
tution.  Nature,  in  order  to  be  at  all,  can  never 
cease  turning  back  upon  itself  and  making  itself 
over;  the  Diacosmos,  which  is  but  a  stage  of  total 
Nature,  keeps  rehabilitating  itself  through  Chemism. 
The  universe,  ever  getting  older,  is  at  the  same 
time  ever  being  new-born — a  reflection  whereof  we 
may  witness  in  the  chemical  act,  both  as  it  is  in 
itself,  and  as  the  completion  or  third  stage  of  the 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  541 

diacosmical  circuit.  So  in  Chemism  we  behold 
the  Diacosmos  returning  to  its  starting-point  and 
rounding  itself  out  into  its  integral  process  as  a 
whole. 

Here  rises  the  question  about  the  method  or 
means  which  Chemism  employs  for  its  work  of 
decomposition.  "WTiat  does  it  bring  to  bear  upon 
composite  substances  in  order  to  reduce  them  to 
their  elements  ?  The  general  answer  is  energy, 
chemical  energy,  which  is  thus  a  kind  of  obscure 
power,  to  be  drawn  upon  by  the  scientist  in  case 
of  necessity.  Energy  is  a  good  word  and  we  use 
it,  but  the  confession  has  to  be  made  that  all  sorts 
of  tricks  are  played  with  it  in  these  days  ;  it  is 
invoked  as  a  kind  of  occult  formula  or  dark 
shadow  of  an  explanation  which  does  not  explain. 
At  any  rate  our  preference  is  to  say  and  to  see  that 
Chemism  employs  as  its  grand  instrumentality  the 
three  Radiants  just  set  forth — Heat,  Light,  and 
Electricity — whose  character  is  so  deeply  separa- 
tive, radiative,  divisive,  even  self-divisive.  We 
may  call  them,  if  we  like,  radiant  energies.  But 
the  fact  is,  that  they  accompany  all  chemical 
action,  seemingly  are  born  of  it,  and  are  used  by 
it  for  its  least  and  its  greatest  disintegrations.  In 
general  the  chemical  laboratory  of  the  Sun  radiates 
the  three  Radiants  as  wc  have  already  noticed;  in 
them  separation  itself  is  undulated  through  our 
planetary  system  into  the  interstellar  spaces. 

The  conception  has   been  already  brought  for- 


542  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

ward  that  those  three  Radiants  are  originally  but 
one  from  which  they  are  differentiated  or  radiated. 
There  is  the  single  primordial  Radiant,  which  we 
may  deem  the  universal  diacosmical  Ray  out  of 
which  spring  Heat,  Light  and  Electricity.  All 
these  produce  chemical  effects,  as  is  well  known. 
To  be  sure  there  is  a  special  ray  called  the  actinic, 
which  works  chemically.  But  the  entire  scale  of 
rays,  which  scientists  have  conceived  as  a  kind  of 
key-board  (see  preceding  p.  448),  has  seemingly  a 
graded  chemical  power,  which  starts  with  assailing 
and  then  destroying  cohesion,  from  which  it  rises 
to  disintegrating  the  molecule  and  even  to  dis- 
sociating the  atom,  as  the  word  now  goes.  The 
radiation  of  the  Radiants  is  the  "deepest  act  of 
diacosmical  separation,  and  this  is  what  Chemism 
employs  in  decomposing  the  material  universe  and 
sometimes  in  recomposing  it,  as  we  see  for  in- 
stance in  the  case  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen.  We 
have  already  treated  of  these  Radiants  in  their 
own  right,  as  phenomena  of  Nature  with  their  own 
laws  and  processes.  Their  character  was  observed 
to  be  deeply  separative  both  in  itself  and  in  its 
action  upon  bodies.  But  now  we  behold  them  to_ 
be  a  part  of  a  greater  process;  their  place  and 
purpose  are  seen  to  be  the  reduction  of  the  physi- 
cal All  to  its  elements  which  are  to  have  a  fresh 
recombination.  Thus  the  Radiants  have  their 
part  in  the  larger  plan  of  rebuilding  the  world,  of 
transforming    it    anew,   the    transformer    being 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  543 

Chemism,  under  whose  direction  or  end  they  do 
their  work. 

Using  the  terms  which  we  have  employed  for 
this  purpose,  we  may  say  that  the  chemical  Dia- 
cosmos  (third  stage)  returns  to  the  molecular  Dia- 
cosmos  (first  stage)  in  the  forms  of  solid,  liquid 
and  gas,  disintegrates  them  into  their  elements  by 
means  of  the  radiant  Diacosmos  (second  stage) 
and  then  redintegrates  them  into  new  forms  of 
themselves,  which,  however,  have  again  to  be 
thrown  into  the  furnace.  Such  is  the  diacosmical 
round  perpetually  going  on  in  Nature,  which  in 
the  present  stage  we  observe  to  be  separative, 
radiative,  or  radio-active  throughout,  dividing 
itself  till  it  reaches  the  limit  of  division  in  the 
clement  or  the  indivisible  unit,  at  which  the  sep- 
arative Diacosmos  is  brought  to  a  halt.  More- 
over the  idea  of  redintegration  and  restoration 
after  dissolution  and  destruction  implies  a  new 
order  of  Nature  different  from  the  diacosmical. 
Still  these  new  substances,  continually  thrown  up 
by  the  chemical  process,  are  at  once  flung  back 
into  the  diacosmical  melting-pot,  and  soojier  or 
later  are  dissolved  into  their  elements  again. 
Thus  the  elemental  unit,  unassailable  we  may  con- 
ceive it  for  the  present,  is  whelmed  anew  into  the 
whirling  abyss  whence  it  sprang.  It  cannot  con- 
trol the  chemical  process  but  is  controlled  by  the 
same  at  last,  and  is  drawn  again  into  the  diacos- 
mical maelstrom.    The  problem  then  comes  up: 


544  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

What  can  control  this  negative  power  devouring 
(like  old  Saturn)  its  children,  the  elements?  At 
present  only  this  outlook  can  be  stated :  the  master 
of  the  foregoing  chemical  process  will  appear  when 
we  come  to  Life  (or  the  Biocosmos).  At  present 
we  need  merely  note  the  final  self-undoing  act  of 
Chemism:  it  disintegrates  what  it  has  integrated, 
and  thus  nullifies  itself.  In  this  final  act  also  we 
may  glimpse  the  negative  outcome  of  the  whole 
Diacosmos  in  its  own  self-negation.  In  general  as 
separative  it  must  separate  from  itself,  or  per- 
chance separate  from  its  own  separation — in  which 
act  peers  forth  again  the  function  which  has  been 
called  dialectical,  and  which  lurks  and  works  in  aU 
Nature. 

We  return  to  make  a  fresh  grapple  with  the  80 
chemical  elements  (more  or  less),  and  to  press 
them  with  an  unfailing  interrogation:  Have  they 
any  unity?  In  this  age  of  evolution  there  is  a 
loud  demand  to  develop  them  from  one  original 
element,  if  possible.  Just  as  the  Radiants  are 
deemed  to  differentiate  themselves  out  of  one  uni- 
versal creative  Ray,  so  the  chemical  elements, 
irreducible  here  on  our  earth  by  any  known  process, 
must  be  reduced  to  their  original  unit  by  the 
mightier  energies  of  the  stars.  Our  Sun  shows 
already  a  multiplicity  of  metals  in  the  spectro- 
scope; evidently  its  present  heat  is  not  great 
enough  to  fuse  the  recalcitrant  individuals  of 
Chemism  back  into  their  primordial  source.    But 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  545 

there  are -stars  which  show  a  much  greater  thermal 
energy — those  in  the  Constellation  Argo,  for  in- 
stance, as  reported  by  Lockyer — and  which  are 
supposed  to  manifest  now  what  the  heat  of  our 
Sun  was  many  millions  of  years  ago,  before  it  had 
cooled  down  to  its  present  temperature  and  pro- 
duced the  existing  diversity  of  elements.  Accord- 
ing to  this  view,  the  star  is  a  chemical  laboratory 
which  is  evolving  the  elemental  individuals,  and 
which  seems  to  be  continually  increasing  the 
number  of  them  down  the  scale  of  their  descent 
through  the  stellar  and  planetary  orders,  till  the 
known  terrestrial  80  elements  have  been  reached. 
It  is  generally  thought  that  we  have  with  us  many 
others  as  yet  unknown.  One  might  calculate  at 
the  present  rate  of  increase  how  many  will  be 
found  in  the  text-books  on  chemistry  of  the  year 
2000  A.  D.  Indeed  it  is  probable  that  new  ele- 
ments are  continually  being  evolved  or  emanated, 
Hke  heHum  and  probably  lead  from  radium.  The 
next  leap  of  thought  is  that  man  is  on  the  way  to 
make  his  own  element,  not  merely  to  transmute 
one  metal  into  another — which  was  the  dream  of 
the  alchemists  long  ago,  but  which  has  surprisingly 
started  up  afresh  in  the  minds  of  some  recent 
scientists. 

Probably  the  best  claim  for  the  place  of  the 
first  element  can  be  made  for  hydrogen,  or  proto- 
hydrogen  as  it  is  often  called  from  its  spectroscopic 
appearance  in  the  hottest  stars.     Moreover  this  is 

35 


546  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

the  lightest  of  the  elements,  and  evidently  stands 
nearer  than  any  other  substance  to  the  imponder- 
able gravitationless  Ether  which  is  doubtless  the 
coming  source  of  the  elements  including  hydrogen. 
At  any  rate  the  electronic  theory  of  Matter  as  it 
is  called,  cannot  stop  long  at  its  present  landing- 
place,  but  must  push  forth  into  the  deeper  ulti- 
mate, yea  into  the  deepest  and  the  universal  one, 
which  has  been  already  designated  elsewhere  as 
the  ether  ion. 

The  problem  of  the  unification  of  the  chemical 
elements,  of  tracing  them  to  a  common  origin  still 
awaits  experimental  solution.  In  some  respects 
it  may  be  deemed  the  scientific  goal  of  chemistry. 
Ever  since  Prout  gave  forth  that  seed-thought 
(see  preceding  p.  282)  that  hydrogen  was  the 
original  element  from  which  the  other  elements 
were  derived,  the  idea  of  their  evolution  has 
never  been  lost,  though  many  famous  chemists 
have  spurned  it,  saying  among  other  things  that 
Prout  was  not  a  professional  chemist  but  only  a 
physician.  Still  the  egg  was  laid  in  that  evolu- 
tionary nineteenth  century,  and  there  can  be  no 
peace  till  the  chick  be  hatched.  At  present  the 
favorite  original  unit  of  the  physical  All  is  the 
electron  (spelled  electrion,  we  notice,  by  Lord  Kel- 
vin). It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  separative 
movement  can  be  halted  just  at  this  point,  even 
by  the  generahssimos  of  science ;  for  it  is  not  pre- 
tended that  there  is  any  direct  experimental  proof 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  547 

of  the  electron.  Indeed  this  veiy  distinctly  calls 
for  another  step  forward — a  step  to  be  taken  out 
of  itself — which  call  seems  to  have  been  heard  in 
the  distance  by  the  Russian  chemist  Mendelejeff. 

Hitherto  we  have  regarded  chiefly  the  chemical 
element;  now  we  may  take  a  glance  at  the  atom 
which  has  played  and  still  plays  a  great  part  in 
Chemism.  The  atom  is  properly  conceived  as 
the  indivisible  ultimate  upon  which  all  division  of 
matter  finally  strikes;  the  chemical  element  is 
supposed  to  be  made  up  of  atoms.  So  it  seems 
that  this  element  is  not  quantitatively  the  chem- 
ical unit,  but  is  such  qualitatively.  We  conceive 
the  chemical  element  to  be  homogeneous  and  inde- 
composable, but  divisible,  while  the  atom  is  homo- 
geneous but  indivisible.  On  the  other  hand  the 
molecule  as  made  up  of  two  or  more  elements,  is 
heterogeneous  and  decomposable,  as  well  as  divis- 
ible. Thus  we  may  conceive  the  atomic  principle 
to  return  to  the  molecule,  the  beginning  of  the 
Diacosmos,  and  to  separate  it  (the  molecule)  into 
its  constituent  indecomposable  elements,  and  then 
to  separate  the  latter  into  their  constituent  indi- 
visible atoms.  At  this  point  division  is  or  was 
supposed  to  be  stopped,  and  the  movement  of 
diacosmical  separation  brought  to  a  conclusion. 
But  this  final  atom  we  shall  find  stoutly  assailed 
in  recent  chemistry  and  impugned  both  as  to  its 
indivisibility  and  its  homogeneity. 

It  may  well  be  asked  what  forced  the  atom  to  be 


548  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

taken  up  into  chemical  science.  The  simple  ele- 
ments as  ultimate  had  been  discovered;  was  there 
any  reason  why  the  atom  should  be  resurrected 
and  injected  into  or  perchance  under  them  as  their 
deeper  principle?  The  reason  lay  in  another  im- 
portant discovery :  this  was  that  the  chemical  ele- 
ments were  combined  in  fixed  and  invariable  pro- 
portions by  weight.  A  constant  quantity  of  an 
element  was  taken  into  the  combination;  if  there 
was  an  excess,  a  residue  would  be  found.  Evi- 
dently Chemism  showed  the  tendency  to  quantify 
itself ;  one  element  in  uniting  with  another  element 
would  seem  to  weigh  it  off,  saying  just  so  much 
for  me  and  no  more.  The  quantum  of  each  of  the 
combining  elements  now  comes  decidedly  into  the 
foreground;  each  measures  each  for  its  component 
and  takes  its  own  measure ;  then  they  unite  chem- 
ically, making  a  new  substance  often  different  in 
property  from  either  component.  But  at  what 
point  does  such  a  combination  take  place?  If  the 
compound  be  divided  mechanically  into  the 
smallest  particles,  each  particle  will  still  show  the 
compound.  Naturally  the  conception  arose  that 
the  combining  particle  of  the  chemical  element  lay 
beyond  division,  was  just  the  indivisible,  the 
atom. 

Of  course  this  atom  was  a  speculative  entity, 
made  by  mind  but  projected  into  matter  to  ex- 
plain the  facts  of  Chemism.  The  atomic  theory 
affirms  that  the  chemical  compound  is  formed  of 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  549 

atoms  of  which  the  simple  homogeneous  element 
is  composed,  and  which  are  constant  in  weight. 
Thus  each  of  the  eighty  elements  is  made  up  of 
its  own  atoms,  of  which  atoms  accordingly  there 
are  eighty  different  kinds  in  Nature.  When  more 
elements  are  discovered  there  will  be  more  kinds 
of  atoms  known  to  us.  The  fact  of  multiple  pro- 
portions of  the  same  two  elements,  when  they 
form  together  several  compounds  should  be  here 
noticed ;  the  different  combining  quantities  of  the 
same  element  are  represented  by  whole  numbers 
or  are  multiples  of  the  first.  This  fact  again 
shows  Chemism  carefully  measuring  by  weight  the 
constituents  of  its  compounds,  and  rejecting  the 
too  much  or  too  little.  Chemism  is  a  goddess 
holding  a  pair  of  scales  (but  not  blinded  like 
Astraea) . 

The  chemical  element,  accordingly,  in  its  decom- 
position and  recomposition  calls  for  accurate  meas- 
urement; it  is  in  its  way  mathematical,  and  has 
in  its  innermost  character  Measure,  which  we  have 
found  in  all  Nature  along  with  Motion  and  Matter 
(see  preceding  page  43,  etc.).  Moreover,  the  ulti- 
mate unit  of  the  element,  namely,  its  atom,  is 
what  has  to  be  measured,  hence  this  measurement 
is  often  called  the  aiouiic  weight.  Moreover,  at 
this  point  a  further  problem  comes  up :  if  the  atom 
of  every  element  is  to  be  measured  by  weight, 
what  is  to  be  taken  as  the  standard  or  unit  of  meas- 
ure?   Hydrogen  is  the  lightest  element,  so  it  is  set 


550  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS, 

down  as  one  (or  the  unit  of  measure)  in  the  ordi- 
nary table  of  atomic  weights;  to  an  atom  of  hy- 
drogen all  other  atoms  of  the  chemical  elements 
are  compared  in  weight.  Such  is  the  important 
fact  of  chemical  Measure  in  which  we  see  again 
Nature  measuring  herself  in  her  way.  But  man 
has  to  re-measure  her,  and  translate  such  meas- 
urements into  his  own  mathematical  forms.  Of 
course  some  individual  hero  of  science  hears  the 
call  to  this  field,  and  does  the  epoch-making  work. 
In  the  present  sphere  we  have  to  celebrate  the 
name  of  Dalton  as  the  founder  of  the  atomic 
theory  of  Chemism  and  so  the  chief  measurer  of 
its  phenomena.  He  was  hardly  more  than  an  am- 
ateur chemist,  still  did  the  greatest  chemical  deed 
in  the  history  of  the  science.  He  has  no  small 
claim  to  be  called  the  Newton  of  chemistry, 
though  he  was  as  little  a  trained  mathematician  as 
a  trained  chemist. 

John  Dalton  (1766-1844)  was  born  in  England 
of  Quaker  parentage,  and  clung  to  the  simple  hfe 
and  faith  of  his  co-religionists  throughout  his  ca- 
reer, wearing  their  costume  and  employing  their 
dialect  (thee  and  thou)  even  among  the  well- 
groomed,  high-toned  scientists  of  the  world,  whom 
he  sometimes  saw  at  London.  He  was  properly  a 
rural  schoolmaster  addicted  to  tireless  interroga- 
tions of  Nature  in  his  modest  way;  among  other 
records,  his  biographer  reports  more  than  200,000 
meteorological  observations  taken  by  Dalton  dur- 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  551 

ing  his  life,  seemingly  for  his  own  private  satisfac- 
tion. His  range  was  not  large,  he  had  few  books, 
but  one  of  them  was  Newton,  who  was  evidently 
his  scientific  bible.  Through  Newton  he  learned 
of  the  atom,  which,  however,  Newton  could  not 
manage,  as  it  lay  outside  of  the  Newtonian  (cos- 
mical)  field.  Interesting  is  the  citation  which 
Dalton  makes  from  Newton:  "God  made  solid 
impenetrable  particles"  as  the  ultimates  of  matter 
— unchangeable,  indestructible,  indivisible.  This 
was  the  thought  which  sank  deep  into  Dalton 
showing  that  his  mind  was  essentially  diacos- 
mical,  and  therein  very  different  from  Newton's 
bent  (in  spite  of  the  latter's  optical  and  other 
physical  experiments).  We  get  the  impression 
from  converse  with  Dalton 's  life  and  works  that 
his  very  Self  was  atomic  by  nature,  and  that  he 
simply  discovered  or  rather  explained  himself  in 
explaining  the  atom.  This,  by  the  way,  is  pretty 
much  the  case  with  all  great  discoverers:  they 
discover  themselves  in  their  discoveries,  though 
the  latter  be  also  objective — a  stage  of  Nature,  a 
part  of  the  Universe.  John  Dalton's  soul  was  a 
kind  of  universal  atom,  self-seeing  of  course,  and 
hence  it  saw  itself  with  such  clearness  in  the 
chemical  soul  of  Nature.  Unconsciously  his  God 
was  atomic,  even  if  he  went  all  his  days  to  Quaker 
meeting  and  communed  silently  with  the  spirit 
among  drab-suited,  humble-hatted  Friends.  More- 
over the  age   was  getting  atomic  and  its  science 


552  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS 

too;  already  the  fact  has  been  noted  that  the 
eighteenth  century  had  a  chemical  trend,  in  con- 
trast with  the  preceding  seventeenth,  which  was 
mechanical  (Newtonian)  and  also  in  contrast  with 
the  succeeding  nineteenth,  which  was  biological 
and  evolutionary  (Darwinian).  But  there  is  a 
streak  of  the  world's  comedy  in  the  fact  that  the 
Spirit  of  the  Age  with  a  sort  of  ironical  scoff, 
should  choose  for  its  supreme  scientific  expression 
a  rural  schoolmaster  of  Quakerdom  instead  of  the 
high-placed  scientists  of  London  and  Paris,  and 
instead  of  the  well-trained  professors  of  chemistry 
at  the  University.  Dalton  was  for  a  while  teacher 
in  a  small  college  at  Manchester,  but  gave  it  up, 
and  then  (after  1799)  made  his  living  by  taking 
private  pupils. 

Historically  considered,  the  atom  is  a  striking 
return  of  modern  science  to  old  Greece  for  getting 
a  basic  thought.  Ancient  Democritus  must  have 
had  the  atomic  God  within  him  even  more  strongly 
and  more  consciously  than  Dalton,  since  with  the 
former  atomism  was  a  philosophical  principle  of 
the  universe,  while  with  the  latter  it  was  a  con- 
cept for  explaining  the  phenomena  of  Chemism. 
The  doctrine  of  Democritus  (or  perchance  of  his 
teacher  Leucippus)  sprang  from  the  four  elements 
of  the  previous  Greek  philosophers,  which,  how- 
ever, were  not  our  modern  chemical  elements,  but 
those  of  immediate  Nature.  Still  we  may  see  in 
ancient  as  well  as  in  recent  atomism  the  same 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  553 

fundamental  object:  the  search  for  the  unification 
of  the  manifold  ultimates  of  the  physical  world, 
called  in  both  cases  the  elements.  The  indivisible, 
indecomposable  unit  is  posited,  the  atom,  from 
which  all  separation  and  change  are  excluded  so 
that  it  can  be  the  source,  in  its  various  combina- 
tions, of  all  separation  and  change.  Democritus 
atomized  Nature  by  thought  not  by  a  chemical 
process ;  he  represents  the  idea  of  the  atom  rising 
long  in  advance  of  its  realization;  the  old  Greek 
is  therefore  its  prophet  who  has  to  wait  more  than 
two  thousand  years  for  the  fulfilment  of  his  oracle. 
The  atom  being  accepted,  the  difficulty  of  it 
begins.  It  is  declared  to  be  the  ultimate  unit  of 
the  physical  All,  yet  at  once  it  shows  itself  to  be 
dual.  It  may  be  called  the  composite  of  thought 
and  matter,  being  a  thought  which  is  posited  as 
material.  Science  in  the  atom  is  not  to  be  sensed, 
and  drops  direct  experiment  as  its  test.  We  may 
designate  the  atom  as  idco-pliysical,  a  material 
immateriality.  Thus  the  atom  is  a  pecuhar  com- 
pound, but  not  in  strictness  chemically  com- 
pounded; rather  is  it  the  one  underlying  com- 
pound of  all  Chemism.  Its  object  is  to  unify  the 
vast  diversity  of  Nature  in  a  single  ultimate  indi- 
vidual, simple,  homogeneous,  which,  however, 
turns  out  double  and  heterogeneous.  Thus  it  con- 
tains by  its  very  origin  an  abundance  of  explosive 
material.  Still  in  a  sense  the  atom  is  typical  of 
all  Nature,  which  through  and  through  must  be 


554  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

regarded  as  a  union  of  Mind  and  Matter.  The  in- 
herent twofoldness  (duplicity)  of  Nature  has  al- 
ready been  noticed,  with  her  subtle  ever-changeful 
dialectic.  In  this  respect  the  atom  is  truly  nat- 
ural; it  may  be  taken  as  the  type  of  physical 
science  which  down  to  its  very  bottom  shows  the 
dualism  projected  into  the  atom. 

Another  difficulty  about  the  atom  is  more  fa- 
mous, but  not  so  deep.  It  is  declared  to  be  indi- 
visible, and  yet  is  an  extended  piece  of  matter. 
This  contradiction  has  gotten  a  great  name  through 
Kant,  whose  second  antinomy  is  based  upon  it. 
Here  again  the  previous  dualism  makes  its  appear- 
ance. The  thought  side  of  the  atom  is  its  indivis- 
ibility, while  its  material  side  is  its  divisibility. 
Those  two  sides,  we  repeat,  belong  not  merely  to 
the  atom  but  to  all  Nature.  Still  the  original 
purpose  of  the  atom  was  to  find  the  physical  unit 
from  which  every  division  should  be  eliminated 
and  made  extra-atomic.  But  we  see  it  to  have 
the  deepest  division  within  it,  verily  the  ultimate 
division  of  Nature  herself.  The  indivisible  atom 
is,  accordingly,  just  the  absolutely  divided,  being 
the  very  type  of  universal  separation  which  must 
be,  accordingly,  intra-atomic. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  the  most  recent 
theoretic  chemistry  is  furiously  attacking  the 
atom,  yea  is  tearing  it  to  tatters.  The  earlier 
chemical  science  sought  to  reduce  the  world's 
compounds  to  their  irreducible  elements;  the  next 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  555 

stage  of '  Chemism  (say  the  Daltonian)  sought  to 
reduce  still  further  these  elements  to  their  indivis- 
ible atoms;  but  now  the  third  stage  has  dawned 
which  is  proceeding  desperately  to  atomize  the 
atom  and  thus  to  serve  up  to  the  same  its  own  in- 
herent character,  by  which  all  matter  has  been 
so  transcendently  and  even  supersensibly  divided. 
The  atom  (or  its  supporters)  after  making  its  fine 
division  tried  to  call  a  halt  to  any  further  work 
like  its  own,  saying:  "I  am  the  indivisible  and  the 
grand  finality."  Thus  we  may  conceive  it  speak- 
ing and  trying  to  stop  the  furious  chemical  disso- 
lution of  this  solid  universe.  But  it  has  been  un- 
able to  put  a  limit  upon  Chemism  and  upon  the 
madly  separative  energy  of  the  Diacosmos.  Con- 
sequently we  now  hear  with  a  loud  din  the  atom  ex- 
ploded, disintegrated,  dissociated.  All  this  is  her- 
alded not  merely  as  the  new  chemistry  but  as  the 
new  science;  yea,  the  science  of  all  sciences  is  an- 
nounced to  have  at  last  made  therein  its  true  ap- 
pearance upon  our  planet. 

All  this  sounds  pretentious  enough,  if  not  a  little 
terrible  and  anarchic ;  surely  our  ever-separating 
Diacosmos  seems  to  be  going  to  pieces  in  this  its 
final  act  through  its  own  self-undoing  dialectic. 
But  now  comes  a  new  turn  just  in  this  field:  the 
atom  though  divided  and  disintegrated  is  put  to- 
gether again  into  a  system.  An  atom  of  hydrogen, 
for  instance,  is  declared  to  contain  a  thousand 
electrons  (or  electric  corpuscles)  whirling  around 


556  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

within  its  sphere  in  a  certain  order.  Sir  Oliver 
Lodge  for  illustration  calls  up  the  image  of  a 
church  in  which  a  thousand  grains  of  sand  are  re- 
volving and  rotating  with  an  enormous  velocity — 
blasting,  bombarding,  often  colliding.  The  unit* 
of  Matter  is  no  longer  the  atom,  but  the  electron, 
which  the  scientist  now  employs  to  explain  solids, 
liquids,  and  gases,  the  first  shapes  of  the  Diacos- 
mos,  under  the  general  theorem  that  Matter  is 
electricity  and  nothing  else.  Still  further,  the 
chemist  introduces  the  electron  to  explain  the 
atomic  weights  of  the  chemical  elements,  declaring 
that  the  atom  of  oxygen  contains  16,000  electrons, 
that  of  mercury  200,000,  if  the  atom  of  hydrogen 
has  1,000.  By  the  same  means  other  chemical 
phenomena  are  interpreted  electrically,  such  as 
valency,  the  periodic  law,  and  chemical  action. 
This  is,  briefly  stated,  the  electronic  theory  of 
Matter,  at  present  culminant,  we  might  almost  say 
raging  in  science.  Really,  however,  it  does  away 
with  Matter  (or  makes  the  attempt) ,  as  the  elec- 
tron is  supposed  to  have  no  material  substrate, 
but  to  be  purely  an  electric  discharge — not  electri- 
fied Matter  but  the  original  electric  monad  of  the 
physical  universe.  Thus  the  deepest  unity  of 
Chemism  and  also  of  the  Diacosmos  is  claimed  to 
be  reached  at  last ;  but  we  shall  find  that  the  elec- 
tron too  does  not  escape  the  dualism  which  has  al- 
ready rent  asunder  the  element  and  the  atom. 
Not  the  least  significant  phase  in  the  develop- 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  557 

ment  of  'this  electronic  theory  is  the  fact  that  the 
atom  becomes  systemic,  a  reflection  as  it  were  of 
the  solar  system.     The   electrons  are  declared  to 
be  moving  inside  the  atomic  boundary,  rotating  on 
their  own  axes   and  seemingly  also  revolving  in 
their  orbits  like  miniature  planets,  which  are  not 
atomic  but  intra-atomic — thousands  of  them  per- 
chance moving  in  the  limits  of  a  single  atom.    And 
these  atoms  are   already  pretty  small,  if  it  takes, 
as  the  calculation  runs,  millions  of  millions  to  fill 
a  square  inch.     But  the  interest  is  to   sec  the  ma- 
crocosm getting-truly  microcosmic  in  this   concep- 
tion, or  as  wc  may  state  it  in  our  special  terms,  to 
see  the  Cosmos  mirroring  itself  everywhere,  even 
in  the  smallest  conceivable  particle  of  the  Diacos- 
mos,  which  is  now  supposed  to  have  not  simply  an 
atomic  order,  but  an   intra-atomic  planetary  order 
of  electrons.     Another  striking  fact  in  this  connec- 
tion is  that  Mathematics   have  entered   the  atom 
once  imagined  to  be  impenetrable,  and  have  cal- 
culated the  motions  of  these   electrons,  as  the  cos- 
mical  motions  of  the  planets  and  stars  have  been 
measured.     Prof.  J.  J.  Thomson  is  the  mathemat- 
ical scientist  who  has  done   the  main  work  in  this 
field,   though   the   start  is  traced  back  to  Clerk- 
Maxwell.     The    movement  of  the    1,000  electrons 
of  the  hydrogen  atom  become  somewhat  compli- 
cated; but  what  about  the   order  of  the  225,000 
declared  to  be  in  an  atom  of  radium,  whose  atomic 
weight  is  set  down  at   225  (in  the  international 


558  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

table)?  The  stellar  motions  of  the  Pancosmos 
furnish  the  only  parallel.  If  we  can  see  on  a  clear 
night  merely  3  to  4,000  stars,  we  may  imagine  (if 
we  can)  seventy  times  as  many  electric  light- 
points  to  be  flashing  and  whirling  around  in  an 
atom  of  radium  after  some  principle  of  order. 

Undoubtedly  all  this  is  speculation,  yea  specula- 
tion of  speculation,  for  the  atom  is  already  specu- 
lation, being  not  amenable  to  sensuous  experi- 
ment. So  the  electron  speculatively  puts  a  new 
speculation  into  what  was  already  speculative. 
Such  is  the  last  act  of  to-day's  Natural  Science,  in 
its  flight  or  return  to  Metaphysics,  notwithstand- 
ing its  protests,  denials  and  even  execrations.  At 
any  rate  we  behold  the  atom  made  systemic  by 
the  scientific  consciousness  of  the  time,  though 
conservative  scientists  are  still  shaking  their  heads 
at  the  unparalleled  audacity.  The  systemic  atom 
of  the  Diacosmos  thus  has  its  counterpart  in  the 
systemic  Cosmos — the  infinitely  large  reflecting 
itself  physically  in  the  infinitely  small.  Indeed 
we  hear  of  systems  of  systems,  which  are  supposed 
to  lurk  and  move  in  the  various  diacosmical  atoms. 
The  high  atomic  weights  of  certain  elements,  like 
mercury  (200) ,  or  lead  (206  + ) ,  or  radium  (225) ,  seem 
to  compel  systems  within  systems  of  electrons,  all 
of  them  inside  the  one  invisible  atom.  Again  the 
comparison  with  the  cosmical  order  comes  up  in 
the  mind.  We  think  of  the  Heliosphere  with  its 
planets  and  their  satelites  whirling  axially  and  or- 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  559 

bitally  tl'irough  space ;  yea  we  are  carried  up  into 
the  Galactosphere,  even  into  the  Cosmosphere 
with  its  stellar  systems  of  systems,  which  the  sci- 
entific mind  of  the  present  seeriis  to  be  transplant- 
ing and  after  its  manner  idealizing  in  the  systemic 
atom  with  a  manifold  arrangement  of  rotating 
electrons.  Thus  does  the  vast  outer  organism  of 
the  Cosmos  interiorize  and  concentrate  itself  in  the 
minute  electronic  organism  of  the  Diacosmos. 

Such  is,  in  general,  the  electronic  theory  of  Mat- 
ter, or  rather  of  the  physical  universe,  being  em- 
phatically the  storm-center  of  the  scientific  thought 
of  the  present  moment.  Inevitably  there  rises  the 
problem  of  the  vahdity  of  such  a  theory  and  also 
of  its  permanence.  Is  the  electron  likely  to  go 
the  way  of  the  element  and  of  the  atom?  Has  it 
too  that  subtle  dualism  of  Nature  which  in  the 
end  will  disrupt  it  and  explode  it  like  a  charge  of 
dynamite?  Such  seems  to  be  its  character.  First 
of  all,  the  electron,  as  constituted  purely  of  elec- 
tricity, participates  merely  in  one  of  the  Radiants, 
or  in  one  of  the  many  modes  of  Motion.  Heat  and 
Light  are  also  Radiants  in  their  own  right,  and 
each  of  them  can  furnish  the  ultimate  unit  as  well 
as  Electricity.  There  is  no  reason  why  we  should 
not  have  a  thermion  along  with  the  statement  that 
Matter  is  Heat  and  nothing  but  Heat,  as  well  as 
an  electron.  Or  perchance  a  photion  might  be  pre- 
ferred, a  radiation  of  a  light-point,  as  the  basic 
principle.    Also  the  common  ray  out  of  which  the 


560  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

three  Radiants  are  supposed  to  proceed  might  be 
taken  as  the  true  original  of  our  material  world. 
But  they  all  have  one  defect:  they  are  special 
modes  of  Motion,  or  forms  of  energy;  none  of 
them  can  lay  any  claim  to  be  the  universal  ele- 
ment or  the  element  of  the  universe  as  physical. 
What  then  is  such?  Already  such  an  element  has 
been  pointed  out  in  the  Ether,  whose  ultimate 
component  particle  we  have  called  the  Etherion 
which  is  composed  of  the  primal  elemental  con- 
stituents of  the  Cosmos,  Motion  and  Matter  (see 
preceding  p.  419). 

Moreover  wc  read  that  the  electrons  of  the  atom 
— thousands  of  them  whirling  in  it — are  charged 
with  negative  electricity,  while  the  periphery  or 
sphere  of  the  atom  which  contains  them  is  of  posi- 
tive electricity,  of  which  any  further  knowledge  is 
specially  disclaimed.  The  assumption  seems  arbi- 
trary, but  with  it  has  risen  the  old  dualism  in  a 
new  form.  The  two  electricities,  positive  and  neg- 
ative, each  opposite  to  the  other,  have  been  in- 
jected into  this  electronic  atom,  and  are  certain  to 
tear  it  asunder  by  their  antagonistic  energies,  re- 
peating doubtless  with  greater  force  what  we  have 
already  seen  in  their  antecedents.  This  last  tragic 
scene  may  not  yet  have  taken  place,  but  the  out- 
look for  it  must  be  deemed  promising. 

Noteworthy  is  the  fact  that  Chemistry  is  get- 
ting out  of  itself,  out  of  its  elements  and  even  out 
of  its  atoms,  and  is  going  back  to  the  previous 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  561 

stage  of  the  Radiants  for  its  eiementa.  unit.  It 
has  started  with  Electricity  (electron)  and  may 
yet  pass  back  to  Light  (photion) ,  and  even  to  Heat 
(thermion) .  These  Radiants  are  its  energies,  its 
diacosmical  instrumentalities,  which  it  employs 
for  decomposition  and  recomposition.  Heat,  Light 
and  Electricity  both  beget  and  are  begotten  by 
chemical  action.  Still  they  are  but  special  forms 
of  a  universal  power  which  is  the  final  object  of 
search;  they  are  particular  modes  of  Motion,  not 
Motion  itself  in  its  ultimate  reality;  hence  they 
can  be  regarded  as  only  temporary  landing-places 
for  the  scientific  spirit  in  its  evolution  toward  the 
universal  element.  In  spite  of  the  asserted  one- 
ness of  Nature  in  and  through  the  electron,  two- 
ness  has  crept  into  it  primarily  by  means  of  the 
two  electricities;  but  we  should  also  see  that  Mat- 
ter, after  being  cast  out,  is  really  hypostasized  in 
the  atomic  envelope  or  sphere  containing  the  elec- 
trons. It  is  self-delusion  to  call  this  envelope 
positive  electricity,  and  then  disclaim  all  knowl- 
edge of  its  character.  The  fact  is  that  both  Mat- 
ter and  Motion,  upon  a  close  analysis,  will  be 
found  underlying  the  electron,  which  thus  pushes 
forward  out  of  itself  into  a  higher  principle  which 
we  may  already  glimpse  as  the  Etherion. 

Evidently  Chemism  is  forging  backward  (or  for- 
v/ard  if  you  prefer)  to  the  universal  cosmic  proto- 
plasm which  has  been  named  Ether,  and  which  is 
not  Motion  nor  Matter  as  separate,  but  the  two  in 

36 


562  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

their  earliest  state  before  separation.  Already  we 
have  treated  Motion  and  Matter  as  stages  of  the 
elemental  Cosmos  (see  preceding  pp.  39-41) ;  at 
present  we  behold  them  in  their  primordial  real 
aspect,  in  which  the  chemical  element  of  the  Dia- 
cosmos  is  at  least  on  the  search  for  its  origin 
Thus  again  the  last  goes  back  and  seeks  to  inter- 
link with  the  first.  That  is,  our  Diacosmos  not 
only  returns  upon  itself  and  forms  its  own  round 
within  itself  (as  already  pointed  out)  but  returns 
to  the  very  start  of  the  Cosmos.  The  Etherion 
hints,  of  course  speculatively,  of  the  chemical 
atom  of  any  one  of  the  separate  elements  travel- 
ing backward  till  it  comes  to  the  universal  ele- 
ment from  which  they  all  sprang  and  in  which 
they  arc  still  coming  and  going,  arising  and  de- 
parting. 

Here  we  may  speak  of  another  cycle,  or  rather 
series  of  cycles  in  Chemism  which  has  been  re- 
cently discovered  and  formulated,  especially  by 
the  famous  Russian  chemist  Mendelejeff.  The  80 
elements,  arranged  in  the  order  of  their  atomic 
weights  (from  hydrogen  =  1,  till  uranium  =  240)  are 
found  to  move  in  self-returning  cycles  of  eight  ele- 
ments from  the  lightest  to  the  heaviest,  with  re- 
curring properties.  These  cycles  are  known  as 
groups  of  which  twelve  (called  series)  have  been 
set  down  in  a  table — vacant  spaces  being  left  for 
elements  as  yet  undiscovered  but  required  for 
completing  the  given  cycle.     It  is  a  suggestive  fact 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  563 

that  some  of  these  vacant  spaces  in  Menclele Jeff's 
table  have  been  filled  quite  recently  by  new  ele- 
ments whose  discovery  was  prophesied  if  not  di- 
rectly brought  about  by  this  law  of  the  elemental 
round  in  Cheniism.  The  names  of  these  three  new 
elements  are  scandium,  gallium,  and  germanium; 
they  were  discovered  respectively  by  a  Swedish,  a 
French,  and  a  German  chemist,  each  of  whom  pat- 
riotically baptized  his  child  with  the  name  of  his 
fatherland.  (Americanium  is  yet  absent  from  the 
list.)  The  whole  is  usually  known  as  the  Periodic 
Law  or  System  of  Chemical  Elements ;  but  it  is 
best  conceived  from  its  cyclical  character,  being  a 
progression  of  the  cycles  of  the  chemical  elements, 
whose  properties  keep  recurring  in  eights  (called 
octaves  by  Newlands,  the  first  observer  of  this 
phenomenon).  Thus  the  properties  of  the  ele- 
ments are  always  returning  and  rounding  them- 
selves out  in  rings  or  perchance  spirals  which  may 
be  counted  to  the  apex  of  a  supposed  cone.  (The 
best  way  to  grasp  this  subject  is  by  means  of  the 
tables  in  the  latest  text-books  of  chemistry.} 

It  is,  therefore,  the  atomic  weight  which  gives 
to  the  special  chemical  element  its  place  in  the  to- 
tality of  elements.  This  means  its  distinctive 
property,  its  character,  its  indi vidua lit5^  More- 
over these  80  elemental  characters  do  not  evolve 
on  a  straight  line  but  keep  recurring  in  the  afore- 
said octaves  quite  regularly,  though  there  are 
some  hitches.     Still  further,  the  atomic  weight  as 


564  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

the  salient  character  in  this  periodic  order,  carries 
us  back  to  gravitation,  according  to  which  each 
element  gets  its  quality  and  rank.  It  is  not  merely 
heavy  like  so  much  cosmical  matter,  but  its  rela- 
tive weight  marks,  if  it  does  not  produce  char- 
acter, individuality.  So  the  element  also  gravi- 
tates in  its  own  way,  and  overcomes  its  separative 
diacosmical  nature  in  the  unity  of  terrestrial  at- 
traction. Very  suggestive  is  this  reappearance  of 
the  determining  power  of  gravitation,  whose  quan- 
tity measures  elemental  quality,  and  indeed  the 
whole  cyclical  movement  of  the  elements.  We  are 
reminded  of  the  Fluids,  which  in  spite  of  their  dia- 
cosmical opposition  at  last  yield  to  the  might  of 
gravitation  (if  the  Ether  be  excepted). 

Historically  this  fact  of  elemental  periodicity 
has  been  known  in  some  shape  for  a  good  wliile, 
and  has  gone  through  its  own  course  of  evolution. 
It  distinctly  appears  (by  threes)  in  the  triads  of 
Dobereiner.  It  was  suggested  far  more  completely 
in  the  elemental  octaves  of  Newlands,  in  which 
the  analogy  to  the  recurrent  octaves  of  the  musical 
scale  is  very  striking.  The  German  chemist 
Lothar  Meyer  wrought  out  the  same  general 
scheme,  but  its  priority  as  well  as  its  completest 
form  are  assigned  to  Mendelejeff.  So  we  have  to 
conceive  a  whirl  of  elemental  properties  evolving 
around  and  forward  according  to  their  atomic 
weights.  These  periodic  cycles  of  the  chemical 
elements  have  been  tested  by  experiment  and  are 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  565 

generally  accepted;  yea  some  periods  within  peri- 
ods have  been  indicated,  as  if  here  too  the  cycle 
was  made  up  of  still  finer  cycles.  But  the  grand 
speculative  outreach  of  Mendelejeff  has  been  too 
audacious  for  the  chemical  mind:  the  80  elements 
enringned  in  eight  cyclical  groups  he  carries  back 
to  a  single  original  element,  the  Ether,  which  he 
thinks  has  nearly  one-millionth  of  the  atomic 
weight  of  hydrogen,  the  lightest  of  the  elements, 
and  the  basis  of  their  comparative  weights.  Ac- 
cordingly the  great  Russian  chemist  puts  Ether 
into  his  table  of  chemical  elements,  placing  it  first 
in  the  so-called  zero  group  (with  helium,  neon,  ar- 
gon, etc.j.  But  Etlier  as  the  universal  substance 
doubtless  transcends  Chemism,  which  is  particular 
in  action  and  deals  with  particulars.  Still  it  is 
very  suggestive  that  this  last  science  of  the  Dia- 
cosmos  in  all  its  separation  is  reaching  out  for  the 
ultimate  unit  of  chemistry  and  therein  of  all  Nat- 
ure. Still  it  will  hardly  do  to  subsume  Ether  under 
Chemism,  making  the  same  a  chemical  element, 
even  the  original  one;  it  goes  back  for  its  compo- 
sition to  a  source  more  ultimate,  to  Motion  and 
Matter. 

But  the  most  interesting  fact  of  recent  chem- 
istry is  that  within  the  last  few  years  a  new  ele- 
ment has  been  brought  to  light  which  can  lay  some 
claim  to  chemical  universality.  That  is,  a  uni- 
versal element  within  the  sphere  of  Chemism  has 
been  found  in  radium,  according  to  the  view  of 


566  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

certain  scientists.  As  far  as  known  it  seems  to  be 
a  speck  of  pure  radiation,  for  it  has  never  been  iso- 
lated from  its  material  compound  or  envelop,  which 
is  usually  barium.  All  attempts  to  get  radium  in 
itself  have  failed.  Still  its  spectrum  and  its 
atomic  weight,  and  hence  its  cyclical  or  periodic 
position,  have  been  determined.  As  yet,  therefore, 
radium  will  not  give  up  its  composite  dualism  to 
any  torture  of  experimentation.  Its  supreme 
characteristic  is  to  be  radiative,  or,  as  the  books 
say,  radio-active;  it  perpetually  separates  itself 
within  and  sweeps  outward  in  self-luminous  man- 
ifestation. It  may  pass  for  a  piece  of  the  sun 
left  behind  in  our  earth  from  the  primal  planetary 
separation,  a  small  granular  relic  of  the  Helio- 
sphere.  To  push  the  idea  beyond  and  beyond, 
radium  may  be  identified  with  primeval  starHght, 
and  may  yet  tell  us  somewhat  of  the  composition 
and  nature  of  the  stellar  universe,  as  well  as  of 
our  own  solar  luminary.  Little  starry  bits,  then, 
have  been  strewn  over  our  globe  possibly  from 
the  old  aeons  of  the  Cosmosphere,  and  we  are  just 
beginning  to  pick  them  up. 

As  in  case  of  the  sun  and  stars  the  problem 
comes  up  about  the  persistence  of  radium.  How 
long  will  it  last?  Does  it,  too,  die?  Here  also  the 
radiative  energy  lessens  and  possibly  expires  in 
time.  The  life  of  radium  is  set  down  at  two 
thousand  years,  when  its  enemy,  whatever  that  be, 
overcomes  it  and  subordinates  it  to  a  new  control. 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  567 

On,  the  other  hand,  uranium,  likewise  a  radio- 
active element,  but  far  less  energetic  than  radium, 
is  computed  to  last  a  hundred  million  of  years, 
when  it  also  must  pass  through  some  kind  of  grave 
Hke  its  stellar  counterparts,  whose  life,  death  and 
resurrection  have  been  already  forecast  (see  pre- 
ceding p.  278,  etc.).  So  the  infereace  is  drawn 
that  these  radio-active  elements  arc  finite  and  a 
part  of  a  greater  process  than  themselves ;  mortal, 
transitory,  they  confess  to  a  stronger  power,  and 
even  call  for  it,  which  is  immortal,  omnipresent, 
endowed  with  universality,  and  which  physically 
can  only  be  the  Ether,  the  universal  Fluid  al- 
ready described,  having  its  own  i)article,  molecule, 
atom,  (yet  different  from  all  these),  namely  the 
Etherion.  Radiation,  it  would  seem,  perishes  if 
kept  asunder  from  its  counterpart  or  antitype 
which  is  attraction;  or,  more  generally  stated,  all 
forms  of  degravitation  are  destined  to  vanish  un- 
less interlinked  and  complemented  by  gravitation. 
We  note  again  that  the  radiative,  separative  Dia- 
cosmos  would  inherently  separate  from  itself  and 
go  to  pieces  through  its  own  dialectic  unless  sup- 
ported by  the  unitary  Cosmos  to  which  it  is  al- 
ways going  back  for  its  substrate.  Thus  the  two 
belong  together  and  constitute  stages  of  that  ulti- 
mate process  of  Nature  upon  which  we  always 
impinge  on  coming  to  the  bottom. 

Radium  shares   its  special   radio-activity  with 
several   other  allied  elements — uranium,  thorium, 


568  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

polonium,  actinium  (to  these  are  sometimes  added 
emanium,  radio-tellurium  and  even  lead  in  a  cer- 
tain condition).  Thus  we  begin  to  think  of  an 
original  radi  o-active  substance  of  which  these  may 
all  be  derivations  or  emanations.  Indeed  several 
of  them  have  their  own  peculiar  emanations,  no- 
tably radium,  as  if  they  might  be  simply  re-enact- 
ing in  a  weaker  way  their  own  origin.  Still  further, 
they  have  rays  of  essentially  distinct  properties, 
and  therein  differ  from  ordinary  light,  whose  re- 
flection, refraction  and  polarization  they  do  not 
possess.  Radium  has  an  alpha-ray  electrically 
positive,  of  considerable  velocity,  but  very  slightly 
penetrating.  The  beta-ray  on  the  other  hand  is 
negatively  electrical,  very  swift,  and  moderately 
penetrating,  while  the  gamma-ray  is  enormously 
penetrating,  sinc^G  it  can  pass  through  solid  iron  a 
foot  thick  with  its  light  and  affect  a  photographic 
plate.  Some  scientists  identify  it  with  the  x-rayof 
Roentgen,  to  which  it  is  similar,  yet  also  different. 
The  important  point  here  is  to  observe  a  wholly 
new  differentiation  of  the  Radiant,  especially  of 
Light  (though  an  invisible  ray  is  also  noted) ;  there 
would  seem  to  be  a  deeper  sort  of  spectrum  which 
divides  the  universal  Ray  not  merely  into  colors,  or 
even  into  visible  and  invisible  portions,  but  into 
entirely  new  forms  of  radiation  possessing  strangely 
unusual  powers.  As  we  sought  to  carry  back  the 
three  separate  Radiants — Heat,  Light  and  Elec- 
tricity— to  one   common  Radiant,  so  now  we  are 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  569 

driven  to  think  of  a  radiative  energy  still  more 
universal,  which  differentiates  itself  not  simply 
quantitatively  (like  the  ordinary  spectrum)  but 
also  qualitatively,  raying  not  only  the  one  scale 
(or  key-board)  of  Radiants,  but  many  diverse 
scales. 

The  relation  of  radium  to  the  three  Radiants  of 
the  Diacosmos  is  certainly  very  intimate — so  inti- 
mate that  it  has  been  sometimes  thought  to  be 
their  source.  Its  discoverers,  Madam  and  M.  Curie, 
found  that  its  heating  power  was  so  great  that  it 
raised  the  temperature  around  it  three  degrees  (F) 
nearly;  thus  each  atom  of  it  is  a  little  white-hot 
furnace;  every  hour  it  throws  out  Heat  enough  "to 
raise  its  own  weight  of  water  from  the  freezing- 
point  to  the  boiling-point."  Here  would  seem  to 
He  the  great  future  reservoir  of  energy  when  it 
once  gets  tapped  by  an  adequate  machine.  But 
still  more  striking  is  the  fact  that  it  docs  not  burn 
up,  having  the  power  to  furnish  indefinitely  its 
own  fuel,  seemingly  during  its  life  of  thousands  of 
years.  Power  for  nothing  lies  around  us,  free  as 
water  or  air,  though  it  has  somehow  to  be  put 
into  harness.  Naturally  the  thought  comes  up 
that  the  sun  and  stars  must  be  chiefly  of  radium, 
which  thus  drives  the  physical  universe.  At  the 
same  time  it  furnishes  Light,  the  second  Radiant, 
and  also  Electricity,  the  third  Radiant.  In  this 
cas(!  we  begin  to  glimpse  the  elemental  unit  which 
is  the  source  of  Radiantism  in  H<  at,  Light  and  Elec- 


570  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tricity.  Possibly,  too,  it  may  be  the  parent  of  all 
the  chemical  elements,  generating  them  in  time,  as 
it  does  helium  and  apparently  lead.  Its  chief 
competitor  for  the  honor  of  such  a  line  of  descend- 
ents  has  been  hydrogen  or  proto-hydrogen,  which 
is  so  often  found  in  close  proximity  with  helium 
in  the  spectrum  of  the  hottest  stars.  The  thought 
lies  near  that  both  these  seeming  twins  spring  of 
one  parent. 

The  discovery  that  radium,  one  of  the  heaviest 
elements,  evolves  or  emanates  helium,  one  of  the 
lightest,  a  gas  of  the  argon  group  with  its  own 
spectrum,  has  given  a  strong  shock  to  the  whole 
chemical  world  and  turned  it  back  to  its  origin  in 
alchemy,  which  sought  so  desperately  the  trans- 
mutation of  metals.  (See  the  book  by  Prof.  Dun- 
can of  Kansas,  entitled  The  New  Knowledge,  for 
many  evidences  of  this  shock,  even  the  style  being 
somewhat  earthquaky.)  Moreover  it  is  conjectured 
that  radium  itself  is  an  evolution  from  uranium, 
as  well  as  its  allied  radio-active  group.  Our  com- 
mon lead  is  strongly  suspected  of  being  derived 
from  uranium,  which  is  deemed  the  primordial 
radio-active  element.  Another  •  very  suggestive 
fact  about  radium  is  that  its  emanative  activity 
moves  in  a  cycle;  if  it  radiates  a  part  of  its  power 
and  thus  loses  the  same,  it  will  in  time  regain 
what  it  has  lost.  The  radio-active  energy  which 
it  may  throw  out  in  an  hour,  will  be  restored  in 
some  days.    This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  all 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  571 

radio-activity  moves  in  cycles  small  and  great, 
through  brief  moments  and  vast  seons.  The  cycle 
of  uranium,  embracing  doubtless  its  life  (a  hun- 
dred milHon  of  years),  death  and  resurrection, 
cannot  be  calculated  at  present,  but  each  little 
emanation  seems  to  have  a  corresponding  round, 
which  we  may  possibly  bring  into  relation  with 
the  electrical  circuit. 

The  account  of  the  pursuit  of  radium,  which 
had  long  been  glimpsed,  has  laid  hold  of  the  im- 
agination of  the  public,  including  both  sexes,  since 
a  female  investigator  steps  into  the  forefront  of 
scientific  discovery,  seemingly  for  the  first  time  in 
history.  The  center  of  interest  is  Madam  Curie 
a  Polish  lady  married  to  a  French  scientist  at 
Paris.  It  is  noteworthy,  however,  that  the  im- 
portant nations  of  Europe  are  represented  in  the 
various  stages  which  led  up  to  the  culminating 
deed;  English,  Dutch,  German  (Roentgen  rays), 
Russian  (Niewenglowski  rays)  participated  in^ 
the  evolution  of  radium.  But  the  immediate  pre- 
decessor was  a  Frenchman,  M.  Henri  Becquerel, 
who  discovered  that  a  uranium  salt  would  emit 
rays  which  affected  a  photographic  plate  through 
black  paper,  and  also  through  thin  plates  of  metal 
and  other  substances.  Here,  then,  was  the  radio- 
active principle  manifested  with  its  special  pene- 
trating power.  But  the  final  step  was  yet  to  be 
taken  by  Madam  Sklodowski  Curie  and  her  hus- 
band, M.  Pierre  Curie.     They  hit  upon  the  lucky 


572  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

I'dea  of  going  back  to  pitchblende,  the  parent 
mineral  of  uranium,  some  specimens  of  which  they 
found  to  possess  a  radio-activity  several  times 
greater  than  that  of  the  metal  uranium  taken  by 
itself.  At  once  they  started  in  search  of  this  new 
substance,  and  found  it,  which  they  very  happily 
called  radium.  Indeed  this  name  must  be  deemed 
an  inspiration  of  far-reaching  import  since  it  con- 
nects this  last  chemical  element  not  only  with  the 
diacosmical  Radiants,  but  with  all  radiation,  in- 
cluding doubtless  the  original  radial  motion  of 
the  Cosmos.  In  this  thought  radium,  so  far  the 
final  result  of  Chemism,  or  perchance  the  univer- 
sal chemical  element,  turns  us  back  again  to  the 
cosmical  beginning. 

The  intense  popular  interest  of  our  time  in  ra- 
dium indicates  that  we  see  in  the  same  some 
striking  counterpart  or  fresh  revelation  of  our- 
selves, perchance  the  chemical  symbol  of  our 
consciousness.  Its  self-separative  act,  or  more 
specially  its  self-radiative  energy  suggests  our  own 
conscious  activity,  which  likewise  divides  within 
and  rays  itself  out  into  object,  but  with  that 
self-return  which  completes  the  process  of  the 
Ego,  Such  a  self-return  belongs  not  to  ra- 
dium, yet  is  faintly  suggested  in  the  fact  already 
noted  that  it  slowly  recovers  what  it  has  lost  by 
emanation.  Still  it  never  regains  wholly  its  own, 
for  it  vanishes  after  thousands  of  years  (two  or 
three) .  Thus  our  separative  Diacosmos  has  evolved 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  573 

a  piece  of  matter  which  separates  itself  and  con- 
tinues doing  so,  becoming  purely  radiative  almost; 
having  still  a  shred  of  gravitative  matter  to  which 
it  clings  and  from  which  it  seemingly  cannot  be 
altogether  divorced.  Thus  radium  in  itself  is  as 
yet  an  idea  which  we  have  by  our  own  mind  to 
abstract  out  of  its  material  wrappage,  somewhat 
as  ancient  Plato  bids  us  do  with  his  supersensible 
ideas.  Strange  realization  of  old  Greece  again! 
The  atom  of  Democrites  we  have  already  seen 
coming  back  in  Chemism,  and  now  its  hostile 
counterpart  in  antiquity,  the  Platonic  Idea,  flits 
spectrally  before  us  in  this  new  element.  Radio- 
activity is  its  specially  designated  property,  but 
this  term  we  have  applied  not  only  to  the  Radi- 
ants but  to  the  whole  Diacosmos;  and  now  we 
begin  to  hear  that  all  Matter  is  radio-active,  more 
or  less.  The  diacosmical  power  of  radiation  after 
having  exerted  itself  in  the  Fluids  and  in  the  Ra- 
diants as  a  secret  energy,  has  evolved  into  a 
chemical  element,  manifesting  itself  in  its  own 
right  and  in  its  own  form  (nearly  but  not  quite). 
The  gift  of  impartation  it  has  also,  making  other 
substances  in  its  field  radio-active,  and  even  the 
experimenter  dealing  with  it  (as  M.  Curie  found  to 
his  cost) . 

The  cause  of  radio-activity  has  been  referred 
to  the  disintegration  of  the  atom,  and  it  is  at  this 
point  that  the  electronic  theory  of  matter  becomes 
connected  with  the  present  subject.     On  the  other 


574  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

hand  the  cause  of  the  disintegration  of  the  atom 
has  been  referred  to  radio-activity.  Thus  the 
reasoning  is  at  least  in  a  circle ;  and  in  spite  of  the 
conjectures  and  even  mathematical  calculations  of 
eminent  scientists,  nothing  decisive  can  be  re- 
ported in  regard  to  this  portion  of  the  science. 
The  dissolution  of  the  atom  into  electrons,  their 
movements  in  it,  as  well  as  their  co-ordination 
into  a  system  have  been  supposed  to  be  largely 
the  work  of  radio-activity.  Here,  however,  we 
must  wait  for  the  future,  with  the  outlook  upon 
the  electron  passing  into  the  etherion,  which  we 
have  already  sought  to  indicate  as  the  universal 
element  of  all  Nature — not  simply  a  chemical  ele- 
ment, but  the  element  of  all  elements,  which  ra- 
dium presupposes  for  its  evolution.  Indeed  if  ra- 
dium emanates  (evolves)  helium,  but  is  evolved  in 
turn  by  uranium,  it  lies  already  midway  in  ele- 
mental evolution.  Now  all  are  asking,  what  em- 
anates uranium? 

Radio-activity,  accordingly,  in  its  general  sense 
IS  the  pervasive  characteristic  of  the  entire  Dia- 
cosmos,  which  at  last  realizes  it  in  a  special 
form,  embodying  it  in  a  particular  chemical  ulti- 
mate, radium.  This  we  may  deem  for  the  pres- 
ent the  conclusion  of  Chemism,  whose  function  is 
to  separate  the  physical  universe  into  its  ele- 
ments. These  it  has  continued  to  evolve  till  it 
has  brought  forth  the  radio-active,  that  is  the 
self-radiative  element,  and  thus  has  realized  and 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  575 

indeefl  materialized  the  regnant  idea  of  the  Dia- 
cosmos.  And  we  may  add  that  our  age,  which, 
as  already  noted,  has  a  strong  separative,  diacos- 
mical  bent,  has  been  brought  to  see  a  very  sig- 
nificant phase  of  itself  in  this  outcome,  a  sort  of 
chemical  adumtration  of  its  own  character. 

Chemistry  has  become  a  great  and  complex  sci- 
ence into  whose  details  we  cannot  here  enter. 
Only  a  very  meager  outline  of  its  organization,  as 
we  conceive  it,  can  be  attempted. 

I.  Elemental  Chemism.  This  would  include 
a  treatment  of  the  chemical  elements  and  their 
various  processes,  including  the  laws  thereof.  The 
ordinary  text-books  of  chemistry  are  chiefly  occu- 
pied in  giving  an  account  of  these  elements.  (1) 
The  compounds  of  the  latter,  with  decomposition 
and  recomposition  form  the  most  immediate  chem- 
ical process,  which  is  continually  going  on  in  the 
physical  world.  (2)  From  this  process  ai'c  drawn 
the  principles  or  laws  of  chemical  action,  which 
finally  reach  the  atom  as  the  ultimate,  and  find 
expression  in  atomic  weight,  volume,  valency, 
atomic  linking,  and  specially  periodicity.  (3)  The 
evolution  of  the  chemical  elements  is  the  deep  ne- 
cessity of  the  science,  which  incessantly  strives  to 
bring  its  multiplicity  into  some  sort  of  unity.  The 
various  struggles  of  the  present  time  in  this  field 
have  been  already  briefly  noted. 

II.  Radiant  Chemism.  The  three  Radiants — 
Heat,    Light    and    Electricity — have    very    pro- 


576  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS, 

nounced  chemical  relations  which  have  been  re- 
cently much  studied.  They  have  their  own  pecu- 
liar sphere  with  its  principles,  which  has  been  al- 
ready set  forth;  also  chemistry  has  its  peculiar 
sphere  with  its  special  principles.  But  now  enters 
the  fact  that  the  three  Radiants  both  produce  a  nd 
are  produced  by  chemical  action;  Radiantism  is 
both  cause  and  effect  of  Chemism,  which  primarily 
uses  it  as  an  instrumentality  of  decomposition  and 
recomposition,  particularly  employing  Electricity 
in  the  Voltaic  battery.  From  this  point  of  view 
the  science  is  divided  into  three  parts :  (1)  Thermo- 
chemistry, dealing  with  Heat  as  a  chemical  agent 
which,  on  account  of  its  separative  power,  dis- 
unites and  then  re-unites,  overcoming  its  own  sep- 
aration; (2)  Photo-chemistry,  which  deals  with 
Light  as  a  chemical  agent,  for  instance  in  the 
manifold  forms  of  photography,  and  as  the  re- 
vealer  of  chemical  action,  for  instance  in  spectro- 
scopy ;  (3)  Electro-chemistry,  which  deals  with  Elec- 
tricity both  as  producer  and  produced  of  Chemism. 
Still  we  .are  not  to  think  that  electrical  action  is 
chemical  action,  though  both  be  inter-related  and 
mutually  generated ;  each  of  these  processes  has  its 
distinctive  place  in  the  Diacosmos,  which,  however, 
associates  them  all  while  preserving  their  separate 
individuality.  It  is  a  chief  difficulty  with  the 
electronic  theory  that  it  makes  all  Chemism  simply 
the  electric  flash  of  an  hypothetical  electron.  And 
in  general  Chemism  is  not  Radiantism,  nor  mere 


THE  CHEMICAL  DIACOSMOS.  577 

radio-ractivity,  though  standing  in  close  relation  to 
these  phenomena.  It  is  itself  and  nothing  else,  pos- 
sessing its  own  individuahty,  which,  however,  is 
to  be  correlated  with  the  other  diacosmical  indi- 
viduals. 

III.  Atomic  Chemism.  We  found  the  atom 
already  in  elemental  Chemism  (first  stage) ,  but  to 
it  we  now  must  return  with  the  last  trend  of 
chemistry  which  has  picked  up  the  old  Daltonian 
atom  (once  regarded  as  ultimate)  and  is  tearing  it 
to  pieces,  analyzing  the  previous  unit  of  analysis, 
dividing  the  formerly  indivisible  One,  in  fine,  atom- 
izing the  atom  itself  and  thus  paying  back  to  it 
its  own  in  a  kind  of  Satanic  retribution.  Yet  the 
modern  movement  does  not  stop  here,  with  such 
a  purely  negative  result:  it  pushes  on  toward  a 
re-constitution  of  the  broken  atom,  into  which  it 
strives  to  put  a  system,  to  be  sure  not  a  chemical 
but  an  electric  (or  electronic)  system.  In  this 
field  of  Atomic  Chemism  we  may  catch  the  follow- 
ing outline  of  a  process  :  (1)  the  integral,  trans- 
mitted atom,  of  which  the  chemical  element  was 
ultimately  composed,  is  to  be  now  decomposed  or 
disintegrated;  (2)  the  ions  of  Faraday  doubtless 
begin  the  separative  stage  of  the  atom,  which  pro- 
ceeds to  the  corpuscles  (a  somewhat  uncertain 
word  in  this  connection)  and  then  reaches  the 
electrons,  thousands  of  which  are  moving  sep- 
arately in  each  elemental  atom;  (3)  but  these 
electrons  are   put  into  a  system  of  revolving  mo- 


578  COSMOS  AND  DIACOSMOS. 

tions  within  the  atom — which  thereby  becomes 
systemic,  and  is  the  present  outcome  of  Chemism 
as  a  science. 

Moreover  this  Systemic  Atom  is  for  us  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Diacosmos,  of  which  it  is  taken  as 
the  final  principle  or  unit.  In  a  similar  manner 
we  found  the  conclusion  of  the  Cosmos  to  be  a 
systemic  unit,  namely  the  Solar  System,  which 
may  be  conceived  as  an  atom  in  the  total  stellar 
universe.  These  two  atoms  can  again  be  called 
the  macrocosmic  and  the  microcosmic,  or  per- 
chance better,  the  cosmical  and  diacosmical.  The 
one  is  more  associative,  uniting  through  gravita- 
tion; the  other  is  more  dissociative,  separating 
through  radiation  or  radio-activity.  At  any  rate 
we  behold  another  form  of  that  dualism  which  has 
been  so  often  observed  of  Nature.  Ultimately, 
however,  they  must  be  grasped  as  contained  in  a 
decider  unity,  or  rather  as  stages  of  the  one  total 
process  of  Nature,  to  which  a  third  stage  has  to 
be  added  for  completing  the  cycle  of  the  physical 
All.  That  is,  the  Cosmos  and  the  Diacosmos,  as 
here  conceived,  call  for  their  fulfilment  in  the  Bio- 
cosmos,  which  as  already  designated  (see  preced- 
ing p.  21)  is  the  order  or  science  of  Life  in  its 
widest  aspect.  But  into  that  stage  of  Nature  the 
present  book  cannot  enter. 


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